Cricket

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trt

%f)e badminton Jiibrarg

OF

SPORTS AND PASTIMES

EDITED BY

HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF BEAUFORT, K.G.
ASSISTED BY ALFRED E. T. WATSON

CRICKET

THE BADMINTON LIBRARY.

28 Volumes. Crown 8vo. 10s. 6d. each volume.

ARCHERY. By C. J. Longman, Col.
H. Walrond, &c. 195 Illustrations
and 2 Maps.

ATHLETICS. By Montague Shear-
man. 51 Illustrations.

BIG GAME SHOOTING. By C.

Phillipps-Wolley, &c.
Vol. I.— Africa and America. 77

Illustrations.
Vol. II. — Europe, Asia, and the

Arctic Regions. 73 Illustrations.

BILLIARDS. By Major W. Broad-
foot, R.E. 29 Illustrations and
numerous Diagrams.

COURSING AND FALCONRY. By
Harding Cox and the Hon. Gerald
Lascelles. 76 Illustrations.

CRICKET. By AJ G. Steel and the
Hon. R. H. Lyttelton. ' 65 Illustra-
tions.

CYCLING. By the Earl of Albe
marle and G. Lacy Hillier. 59
Illustrations.

DANCING. By Mrs. Lilly Grove
F.R.G.S., &c. 131 Illustrations.

DRIVING. By the Duke of Beaufort
65 Illustrations.

FENCING, BOXING, AND WREST
LING. By Walter H. Pollock
F. C. Grove, C. Prevost, &c. 42
Illustrations. •

FISHING. By H. Cholmondeley

Pennell.
Vol. I.— Salmon, Trout, and Gray

ling. 158 Illustrations.
Vol. II.— Pike and other Coarse Fish,

132 Illustrations.

GOLF. By Horace Hutchinson, the
Right Hon. A. J. Balfour, M.P.,
&c. 89 Illustrations.

HUNTING. By the Duke of Beau
fort, K.G., and Mowbray Morris.
53 Illustrations.

I MOUNTAINEERING. ByC. T.Dent,
Sir W. M. Conway, &c. 108 Illus-
trations.
POETRY (THE) OF SPORT. Edited
by Hedley Peek. 106 Illustrations.

RACING AND STEEPLE-
CHASING. By the Earl of Suffolk
and Berkshire, W. G. Craven, &c.
58 Illustrations.
j RIDING AND POLO. By Robert
Weir, J. Moray Brown, &c. 59
Illustrations.

ROWING. By R. P. P. Rowe and

C. M. Pitman. With Chapters on
Steering, Metropolitan Rowing, and
on PUNTING. With 75 Illustra-
tions.

I SEA-FISHING. By John *Bicker-
dyke; W. Senior, Sir H. W. Gore
Booth, Bart., and A. C. Harms-
worth. 197 Illustrations.

SHOOTING. By Lord Walsingham
and Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey,
Bart.
Vol. I.— Field and Covert. 105

Illustrations.
Vol. II.— Moor and Marsh. '65 Illus-
trations.

SKATING, CURLING, TOBOGGAN-
ING, &c. By J. M. Heathcote,
C. G. Tebbutt, &c. 284 Illustrations.

SWIMMING. By Archibald Sinclair
and William Henry. 119 Illustra-
tions.
j TENNIS, LAWN TENNIS,
RACKETS, AND FIVES. By
J. M. and C. G. Heathcote, &c.
79 Illustrations.

j YACHTING. By Lord Brassey, the
Earl of Onslow, &c.
Vol. I.— Cruising, Construction,
Racing Rules, &c. 114 Illustra-
tions.
Vol. II.— Yachting in America and
the Colonies, Racing, &c. 195
1 Illustrations.

LONGMANS, GREEN, & CO. 39 Paternoster Row, Londo.n
and Bombay.

Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2007

http://archive.org/details/cricketcOOsteerich

CADGHT AND BOWLED

CRICKET

BY

A. G. STEEL

AND THE

HON. R. H. LYTTELTON

WITH CONTRIBUTIONS BY
A LANG, W. G. GRACE, R. A. H. MITCHELL, AND F. GALE

WITH NUMEROUS ENGRAVING? AFTER LUCiEN DAVIS
AND FROM PHOTOGRAPHS , •»,».»

§bixt\l (Sbition, tgartogjjlg' nbutb

LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.

39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON

AND BOMBAY

1898

All rights reserved

G

^
W

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE.

First Edition, June 1888; Reprinted August 1888,
January 1 889, September 1 890. New Edition, thoroughly
revised and with additions, December 1 893. New Edition,
thoroughly revised and with additions, July 1898.

DEDICATION

TO

H.R.H. THE PRINCE OF WALES.

Badminton : June, 1888.

Having received permission to dedicate these volumes,
the Badminton Library of Sports and Pastimes,
to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales,
I do so feeling that I am dedicating them to one of the
best and keenest sportsmen of our time. I can say, from
personal observation, that there is no man who can
extricate himself from a bustling and pushing crowd of
horsemen, when a fox breaks covert, more dexterously
and quickly than His Royal Highness ; and that when
hounds run hard over a big country, no man can take a
line of his own and live with them better. Also, when
the wind has been blowing hard, often have I seen
His Royal Highness knocking over driven grouse and
partridges and high-rocketing pheasants in first-rate

vi DEDICATION.

workmanlike style. He is held to be a good yachtsman,
and as Commodore of the Royal Yacht Squadron is
looked up to by those who love that pleasant and
exhilarating pastime. His encouragement of racing is
well known, and his attendance at the University, Public
School, and other important Matches testifies to his
being, like most English gentlemen, fond of all manly
sports. I consider it a great privilege to be allowed to
dedicate these volumes to so eminent a sportsman as
His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, and I do
so with sincere feelings of respect and esteem and loyal
devotion.

BEAUFORT.

BADMINTON.

PREFACE.

A FEW LINES only are necessary to explain the object
with which these volumes are put forth. There is no
modern encyclopaedia to which the inexperienced man,
who seeks guidance in the practice of the various British
Sports and Pastimes, can turn for information. Some
books there are on Hunting, some on Racing, some
on Lawn Tennis, some on Fishing, and so on ; but one
Library, or succession of volumes, which treats of the
Sports and Pastimes indulged in by Englishmen — and
women — is wanting. The Badminton Library is offered
to supply the want. Of the imperfections which must
be found in the execution of such a design we are

viii PREFACE.

conscious. Experts often differ. But this we may say,
that those who are seeking for knowledge on any of the
subjects dealt with will find the results of many years'
experience written by men who are in every case adepts
at the Sport or Pastime of which they write. It is to
point the way to success to those who are ignorant of
the sciences they aspire to master, and who have no
friend to help or coach them, that these volumes are
written.

To those who have worked hard to place simply and
clearly before the reader that which he will find within,
the best thanks of the Editor are due. That it has been
no slight labour to supervise all that has been written he
must acknowledge ; but it has been a labour of love,
and very much lightened by the courtesy of the Publisher,
by the unflinching, indefatigable assistance of the Sub-
Editor, and by the intelligent and able arrangement
of each subject by the various writers, who are so
thoroughly masters of the subjects of which they treat.
The reward we all hope to reap is that our work may
prove useful to this and future generations.

THE EDITOR.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER PAGE

I. The History of Cricket ...... i

By Andrew Lang.

II. Batting 34

By the Hon. R. H. Lyttelton.

III. Bowling , . . . 94

By A. G. Steel.

IV. Captaincy . 187

By A. G. Steel.

V. Umpires , . . . . 217

By A. G. Steel.

VI. Fielding . .245

By the Hon. R. H Lyttelton.

VII. Country Cricket . . . . . . . 280

By F. Gale.

VIII. Border Cricket 292

By Andrew Lang.

IX. How to Score 299

By W. G. Grace.

X. The Australians 313

By A. G. Steel.

x CONTENTS.

CHAPTER PAGE

XI. The University Cricket Match . . . . 328

By the Hon. R. H. Lyttelton.

XII. Gentlemen and Players 356

By the Hon. R. H. Lyttelton.

XIII. The Art of Training young Cricketers . . 375

By R. A. H. Mitchell.

XIV. Single Wicket. . 386

By the Hon. R. H Lyttelton.
INDEX 395

ILL USTRA TIONS.

(Engraved by J. D. Cooper and R. B. Lodge, after Drawings
by Lucien Davis, and Photographs by G. Mitchell, Martin
& Tyler, and Medrington & Co.)

FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS.

Caught and Bowled
A Young Cricketer

Cricket

Royal Academy Club in
Marylebone Fields . .

Caught at the Wicket

Run Out

A. E. Stoddart .

Country Cricket (Mitcham)

M.C.C. and Ground v. Aus-
tralians, Lord's, May
22, 1884 ....

The Critics ....

The Interval .

Kennington Oval, 1854 .

Our National Game . .

ARTIST

Lucien Davis

From a picture ascribed^
to Gainsborough, be
longing to the M. C. C.

After Hayma??s picture
belonging to M. C. C.

Lucien Davis

From a photograph
Lucien Davis .

Lucien Davis

Frontispiece

To face p.

28

68
198
212
280

308

324
348
366
376

ILL USTRA TIONS.

ILLUSTRATIONS IN TEXT.

Vignette on Title-page
« Miss Wicket '

ARTI9T

Lucien Davis

j From an old print,

1 I770 •

The Champion Lucien Davis

W. G. Grace ready to receive the)

BALL j

Forward Play From a photograph

' Half-cock,' or over the crease play

'Back-play* to a bumping ball.

Gunn Cutting

Shrewsbury Cutting . . . - .

Old-fashioned Sweep to Leg (Gunn) .

Square-leg Hit (W. G. Grace) .

'The Glide' (W. G. Grace) . . .

Forcing Stroke off the legs .

Off Drive

Running out to Drive (Shrewsbury) .

Gunn playing Forward . . . .

' The Demon Bowler ' . . . . Lucien Davis

The Leg-break Diagram

Position of Field if Bowling on Leg
side

The Leg-break

Likely Balls ; and what may become
of them if not correctly played

The Off Break

'Off Breaks'

Slow Ball

Fast Ball

A Hot Return. From a photograph

i . . .

From a photograph
From a photograph

7
34

44

5o
52
55
59
60
62

64
66
68
70
77
93
94
110

in

113

114

116
117
123
123
127

ILLUSTRATIONS.

xni

A Pokey Batsman dealing with

HIGH-DROPPING FULL-PITCH

Low Delivery

Doubtful Delivery

The Field for a Fast Right-arm
Bowler

The Field for a Fast Left-arm Bowler
Going in .....
Eton v. Harrow ....
At Wicket after Bowling
'Guard, please, Umpire' .

A Clear Case

'You must go, Jack' .

Stumped ......

' Saving the Four '

Backing up

' Overtaking and Picking up ' .
The Right Way to Catch
The Wrong Way to Catch .
Wicket-keeper— Sherwin in position
Wicket-keeper — another position
Hit to Square-leg ....

Point

Short-slip

The Wrong Position for Stopping the
Ball

An Anxious Moment .

A Six-year Old ....

Drawing away from the Wicket .

ARTIST

PAGE

From a photograph

• 139

a

. 167

>>

. 174

. 176

■ 177

Lucien Davis

. 187

»> • •

. 208

From a photograph

. 214

Lucien Davis

. 217

From a photograph

. 224

a

. 229

Lucien Davis

• 243

5> * *

• 245

J> •

. 247

From a photograph

• 249

j>

• 250

5J

. 251

>>

. 252

„

. 254

Lucien Davis

. 256

From a photograph

. 261

»

. 264

• 273

Lucien Davis

• 279

From a photograph

• 375

Lucien Davis

• 379

A TOTJNO CRICKETER
(From a Picture escribed to Gainsborotizh belonging to the M.C.C.)

CRICKET.

CHAPTER I.

THE HISTORY OF CRICKET.

(By Andrew Lang.)
Archceology of the Game.

Hundreds of pages have been written on the origin and
early history of Cricket. The Egyptian monuments and Holy
Scriptures, the illuminated books of the Middle Ages, and the
terra-cottas and vases of Greece have been studied, to no
practical purpose, by historians of the game. Outside of
England, 1 and before the fortieth year of the reign of Eliza-
beth, there are no documents for the existence of cricket.
Doubtless in rudimentary and embryonic forms, it may have
existed. Of those forms we still possess a few, as ■ rounders ' and
1 stool-ball,' and we can also study degraded shapes of cricket,
which naturally revert to the early germs of the pastime as
degenerate human types throw back to the monkey. There
is a sport known at some schools as stump -cricket,' 'snob-
cricket,' or (mysteriously and locally) as ' Dex,' 2 which is a
degenerate shape of the game, and which is probably very
like the rudimentary shapes. These degradations are reversals
or returns to primitive forms.

1 Outside of England Mrs. Piozzi found ' a game called Pallamajo, some-
thing like our cricket. ' If she meant Pallone, she merely proved herself no
cricketer. Mr. Arthur Evans has noticed, in Dalmatia, a kind of trap-bat, a
' cat ' being used in place of a ball, and the length of hits being measured by
the stick that serves as bat.

2 The learned have debated as to the origin of the local term 'Dex.' Let
it suffice to say that it is not what they suppose.

B

2 V ,v CRICKET.

. f •.'A3ba^l ? ;m6tfe c?r rlfess light and soft, is bowled or tossed at
any fixed object, which, in turn, is defended by a player armed
with a stick, stump, hair-brush, or other instrument. The
player counts as many points as he can run backwards and
forwards, after hitting the ball, between the object he defends
and some more or less distant goal, before the ball is returned.
He loses his position when the object he defends is struck by
the ball, or when the ball is caught, after he has hit it, before
touching the ground. Such is the degraded form of cricket,
and such, apparently, was its earliest shape. Ancient surviving
forms in which a similar principle exists are ' rounders ' and
' stool-ball.' The former has been developed in America into
the scientific game of ' base-ball/ the name being Old English,
while the scientific perfection is American. It is impossible
to trace cricket farther back than games in which points are
scored in proportion to the amount of ground that the hitter
can cover before the return of the struck bajl .J Now other
forms of ball-play, as tennis, in different guises, can be found
even among the ancient Aztecs, 1 while the Red Indians prac-
tised the form which is hockey among us, and the French
and Walloons have sports very closely corresponding to golf ;
but games with the slightest analogy to cricket are very rare.
Stool-ball is the most important foreshadowing of cricket. As
early as 1614, Chapman, in his translation of the sixth book of
the * Odyssey,' makes Nausicaa and her girls play stool-ball.
Chapman gives certain technical terms, which, of course, have
nothing corresponding to them in Homer, but which are valu-
able illustrations of the English game. .

Nausicaa seems to have received a trial ball —

Nausicaa, with the wrists of ivory,

The liking-stroke struck.
Again,

The Queen now, for the upstroke, struck the ball
Quite wide of th' other maids, and made it fall
Amidst the whirlpools.

1 See M. de Charnay's Ancient Cities of the New World, p. 96. London.

1887.

HISTORY. 3

thereby, doubtless, scoring a lost ball. He describes this as
'a stool-ball chance.' Chapman does not say whether the ball
was bowled to Nausicaa. Everything shows that Dr. Johnson
was writing at random when he described stool-ball as a game
' in which a ball is driven from stool to stool.' Chapman con-
ceives Nausicaa as making a ' boundary hit' There would be
no need of such hitting if balls were only 'driven from stool
to stool.'

Strutt's remarks on stool-ball merely show that he did not
appreciate the importance of the game as an early form of
cricket. 'I have been informed,' he says, 'that a pastime
called stool-ball is practised to this day in the northern parts
of England, which consists simply in setting a stool upon the
ground, and one of the players takes his place before it, while
his antagonist, standing at a distance, tosses a ball with the
intention of striking the stool, and this it is the business of the
former to prevent by beating it away with his hand, reckoning
one to the game for every stroke of the ball,' apparently with-
out running. ' If, on the contrary, it should be missed by the
hand and strike the stool, the players change places.' Strutt
adds, in a note, that he believes the player may be caught out.
He describes another game in which stools are set as ' bases '
in a kind of base-ball. He makes the usual quotations from
Durfey about 'a match for kisses at stool-ball to play.' ]

Brand's notes on stool-ball do no more than show that men
and women played for small wagers, as in Herrick,

At stool-ball, Lucia, let us play
For sugar, cakes, and wine. 2

It is plain enough that stool-ball was a game for girls, or
for boys and girls, and Herrick and Lucia. /As at present
played stool-ball is a woman's game ; but no stool is used : what

1 Strutt's Sports and Pastimes, 1810, pp. 89, 90 ; cf. Durfey's Pills to Purgt
Melancholy, i. 91.

2 Popular Antiquities, i. 153, note. London, 1813. The lines are quoted
by Brand from A Pleasant Grove of New Fancies, p. 74. London, 1657. He
might have gone straight to Herrick, Hesperides (1648). p. 280.

B 2

4 CRICKET.

answers to the wicket is a square board at a certain height on a
pole, much as if one bowled at the telegraph instead of the
stumps. Consequently, as at base-ball, only full pitches can be
tossed. However, in stool-ball we recognise the unconscious
beginnings of better things. As much may be said for ' cat-and-
dog.' "This ma y De regarded either as a degraded attempt at
early cricket, played by economists who could not afford a ball, or
as a natural volks-kriket, dating from a period of culture in which
balls had not yet been invented. The archaeologist will prefer
the latter explanation, but we would not pedantically insist on
either alternative. In Jamieson's ' Scotch Dictionary,' x cat-and-
dog is described as a game for three. 2 Two holes are cut at a
distance of thirteen yards. At each hole stands a player with
a club, called a ' dog.' A piece of wood, 3 four inches long by
one in circumference, is tossed, in place of a ball, to one of the
dogsmen. His object is to keep the cat out of the hole. ' If
the cat be struck, he who strikes it changes places with the
person who holds the other club, and as often as the positions
are changed one is counted as won in the game by the two
who hold the clubs.' Jamieson says this is an * ancient sport
in Angus and Lauder.' A man was bowled when the cat got
into the hole he defended. We hear nothing of * caught and
bowled.' 4

Cat-and-dog, or, more briefly, cat, was a favourite game
with John Bunyan. He was playing when a voice from heaven
(as he imagined) suddenly darted into his soul, with some
warning remarks, as he was * about to strike the cat from
the hole.' The cat, here, seems to have been quiescent.
' Leaving my cat on the ground, I looked up to Heaven,' and
beheld a vision. Let it be remembered that Bunyan was
playing on Sunday. The game of cat, as known to him, was,

1 Edinburgh, 1841.

8 In married life, two are quite enough to play • cat and dog. '

5 Compare Loggat. See Hamlet, v. 1, and Nares' Glossary, s. v.

* Brand, ii. 287, quotes a reference to ' cat and doug ' from the Life of
the Scotch Rogue. London, 1722. The Scotch Rogue says nothing about
cricket.

HISTORY. 5

apparently, rather a rude variety of knurr and spell than of
cricket. This form is mentioned by Strutt. 1 Both stool-ball
and cat-and-dog have closer affinities with cricket than club-
ball as represented in Strutt's authorities. 2 Perhaps we may
say that wherever stool-ball was played, or cat-and-dog, there
cricket was potentially present. As to the derivation of the
word ' cricket,' philologists differ as much as usual. Certainly
'cricket' is an old word for a stool, though in this sense
it does not occur in Skeat. 3 In Todd's ■ Johnson,' we find,
• Cricket : a low seat or stool, from German kriechen, to creep.'
In Scotland we talk of a ■ creepy-stool.'

It's a wise wife that kens her weird,
What though ye mount the creepy !

says Allan Ramsay, meaning the stool of repentance. If, then,
stool-ball be the origin of cricket, and if a cricket be a stool,
'cricket' may be merely a synonym for stool-ball. Todd's
1 Johnson,' with ignominious ignorance, styles cricket ' a sport
in which the contenders drive a ball with sticks or bats in op-
position to each other.' Johnson must have known better. In
the ' Rambler,' No. 30, he writes, ■ Sometimes an unlucky boy
will drive his cricket-ball full in my face.' Observe, he says
1 drive,' not * cut,' nor ■ hit to leg.'

Professor Skeat says nothing of this derivation of ' cricket '
from cricket, a stool. He thinks *et' may be a diminutive,
added to the Anglo-Saxon cricc, a. staff. If that be so, cricket will
mean club-play rather than stool-ball. In any case, Professor
Skeat has a valuable quotation of 'cricket' from the French
and English Dictionary compiled in 161 1, by Mr. Randle

« P. IOI.

3 The miniature in which a woman bowls to a back-handed player with no
wicket is dated 1344. Bodl., 264. But the evidence of art is never very
trustworthy. The painter may have been a woman, or a monk, or an unedu-
cated person. Many of the pictures in modern books give a misleading view
of cricket.

5 Etymological Dictionary, 1882. The writer here owes a great deal to
Dr. Murray, of the English Dictionary, who kindly lent him the ' slips ' (short,
of course) on Cricket, as far as they have been collected. — A. L.

6 CRICKET.

Cotgrave. He translates the French crosse, 'a crosier, or
bishop's staffe, also a cricket staffe, or the crooked staffe where-
with boies play at cricket.' Now the name of the club used in
French Flanders at the local kind of golf is la crosse. It is a
heavy, barbaric kind of golf-club. 1

Thanks to Cotgrave, then, we know that in 1611 cricket
was a boy's game, played with a crooked staff. The club, bat,
or staff continued to be crooked or curved at the blade till the
middle of the eighteenth century or later ; and till nearly 172c
cricket was mainly a game for boys. We may now examine
the authorities for the earliest mentions of cricket.

People have often regarded Florio's expression in his Italian
Dictionary (1598) cricket-a-wicket as the first mention of
the noble game. It were strange indeed if this great word
first dropped from the pen of an Italian ! The quotation is
■ sgrittare, to make a noise as a cricket ; to play cricket-a-wicket,
and be merry.' I have no doubt myself that this is a mere
coincidence of sound. The cricket (on the hearth) is a merry
little beast, or has that reputation. The term ' cricket-a-wicket »
is a mere rhyming reduplication of sounds like ' hob-nob ' or
« tooral-ooral,' or the older ' Torelore,' the name of a mythical
country in a French romance of the twelfth century. It is an
odd coincidence, no doubt, that the rhyming reduplication
should associate wicket with cricket. But, for all that, ' cricket-
a-wicket ' must pair off with ' helter-skelter,' ' higgledy-piggledy,'
and Tarabara to which Florio gives cricket-a-wicket as an
equivalent. 2

Yet cricket was played in England, by boys at least, in
Florio's time. The proof of this exists, or existed, in the ■ Con-
stitution Book of Guildford,' a manuscript collection of records
once in the possession of that town. In the ' History of Guild-
ford,' an anonymous compilation, published by Russell in the

1 See M. Charles Deulin's tale, * Le Grand Choleur,' in Contes du Roi
Gambrinus. There is a good deal of information in Germinal, by M. Zola.
The balls are egg-shaped, and of boxwood. The game is a kind of golf,
played across country.

8 Cotgrave's French Dictionary, 'Crosse.' i6u.

HISTORY. 7

Surrey town, and by Longmans in London (1801), there are ex-
tracts from the ' Constitution Book.' They begin with a grant
anno li. Ed. III. For our purpose the only important passages
are pp. 201, 202. In the thirty-fifth year of Elizabeth one William

1 Miss Wicket.' (From an old print, 1770.)

Wyntersmoll withheld a piece of common land, to the extent of
one acre, from the town. Forty years before, John Parvishe had
obtained leave to make a temporary enclosure there, and the
enclosure had never been removed. In the fortieth year of

8 CRICKET.

Elizabeth this acre was still in dispute, when John Derrick, gent,
aged fifty-nine, one of the Queen's Coroners for the county,
gave evidence that he ' knew it fifty years ago or more. It
lay waste and was used and occupyed by the inhabitants of
Guildeford to saw timber in and for saw-pitts. . . . When he
was a scholler in the free school of Guildeford he and several
of his fellowes did run and play there at crickett and other
plaies.'

This is the oldest certain authority for cricket with which I
am acquainted. Clearly it was a boy's game in the early years
of Elizabeth. Nor was it a very scientific game if it could be
played on a wicket agreeably diversified by ' saw-pitts.' William
Page may have played cricket at Eton and learned to bat as well
as ' to hick and hack, which they will do fast enough of them-
selves, and to cry horum.' It has already been shown that,
in[i6ii, 'boyes played at crickett,' with a crooked bat or
'cricket-staffe.'

In 1676 we get a view of a summer day at Aleppo, and of
British sailors busy at the national game.

Henry Teonge, Chaplain onboard H. M.S. ships 'Assist-
ance,' ■ Bristol,' and 'Royal Oak,' Anno 1675 to 1679, writes: —

[At Aleppo].
6. — This morning early (as it is the custom all summer longe)
at the least 40 of the English, with his worship the Consull, rod
out of the cytty about 4 miles to the Greene Piatt, a fine vally
by a river syde, to recreate them selves. Where a princely tent
was pitched ; and wee had severall pastimes and sports, as duck-
hunting, fishing, shooting, handball, krickett, scrofilo ; and then a
noble dinner brought thither, with greate plenty of all sorts of
wine, punch, and lemonads ; and at 6 wee returne all home in
good order, but soundly tyred and weary. 1

VWhen once the eighteenth century is reached cricket begins
to find mention in literature. Clearly the game was rising in
the world and was being taken up, like the poets of the period,
by patrons. < Lord Chesterfield, whom Dr. Johnson found a

1 Diary, p. 159 ; May, 1676.

HISTORY. 9

patron so insufficient, talked about cricket in a very proper
spirit in i74qT/ 'If you have a right ambition you will
desire to excell all boys of your age at cricket ... as well
as in learning.' That is the right style of fatherly counsel ;
but Philip Stanhope never came to ' European reputation as
mid- wicket- on,' like a hero of Mr. James Payn's. Lord Ches-
terfield also alludes to 'your various occupations of Greek
and cricket, Latin and pitch-farthing,' very justly coupling the
nobler language with the nobler game. Already in the fourth
book of the 'Dunciad,' line 592, Mr. Alexander Pope had
sneered at cricket. 2 At what did Mr. Pope not sneer? The
fair, the wise, the manly, — Mrs. Arabella Fermor, Lady Mary
Wortley Montagu, Mr. Colley Cibber, and a delightful pastime,
— he turns up his nose at them and at everyone and every-
thing !

O le grand homme, rien ne lui peut plaire !

See, he cries to Dulness, see —

The judge to dance his brother serjeant call,
The senator at cricket urge the ball.
\
Cricket was played at Eton early.: Gray, writing to West,

says, 'There is my Lords Sandwich and Halifax — they are
statesmen — do you not remember them dirty boys playing at
cricket? ' 3 In 1736 Walpole writes, 'I can't say I am sorry I
was never quite a school-boy : an expedition against barge-
men, or a match at cricket may be very pretty things to recol-
lect ; but, thank my stars, I can remember things very near as
pretty.' 4 The bargee might have found an interview with Miss

• l i. p. 197. Letter xxi.

2 The bibliography of the Dunctad is not a subject to be rushed into
rashly, nor in a note ; but this must have been written between 1726-1735, there
or thereabouts. The Scholiasts recognise Lord John Sackville as the Senator,
and quote a familiar passage from Horace Walpole (June 8, 1747) about
Cricketalia, instituted in his honour. We may, perhaps, regard Lord John
as one of the early patrons of the game.

3 Gray's Works, 1807, ii. p. 2. See also 'urge the flying ball,' which
must refer, I think, to cricket. That ode was first published in 1747. Johnson
carelessly paraphrases ■ drives the hoop, or tosses the ball ! ' — C. W.

4 To George Montagu, May 6, 1726.

10 CRICKET.

Horace pretty to- recollect, but when Horace pretends that he
might have been in the Eleven if he liked, the absurdity becomes
too glaring. We are reminded of Charles Lamb's ' Here is
Wordsworth saying he might have written "Hamlet " if he had
had the " mind." ' Cowper pretends (in 1781) that ■ as a boy
I excelled at cricket and football,' but he adds, with perfect
truth, ' the fame I acquired by achievements that way is long
since forgotten.' The author of the ■ Task,' and of a good
many hymns, was no Mynn nor Grace. We shall find but few
of the English poets distinguished as cricketers, or fond of
tuning the lyre to sing Pindaric strains of batters and bowlers.
Byron tells a friend how they ' together joined in cricket's
manly toil' (1807). Another noble exception is George
Huddesford, 1 author of 'Salmagundi' (1791, p. 66) —

But come, thou genial son of spring
Whitsuntide, and with thee bring
Cricket, nimble boy and light,
In slippers red and drawers white,
Who o'er the nicely measured land
Ranges around his comely band,
Alert to intercept each blow,
Each motion of the wary foe.

This passage gives us the costume — white drawers and red
slippers. The contemporary works of art, whereof see a little
gallery on the walls of the pavilion at Lord's, show that men
when they played also wore a kind of jockey cap. In a sketch
of the Arms of Shrewsbury School, little boys are playing ; the
bat is a kind of hockey-stick as in the preceding century.
There are only two stumps, nor more in Hayman's well-known
picture engraved 1755. The fields are well set for the bowling,
and are represented with their hands ready for a catch. There

1 See also his Wiccamical Chaplet, 1804, where there is an excellent ' Cricket
Song' (p. 131 to 133) for the Hambledon Club, Hants, 1767, in the course of
which the follow ing names of cricketers occur : Nyren, Small, Buck, Curry,
Hogsfiesh, Barber Rich ('whose swiftness in bowling was never equalled
yet '), ' Little George, the longstop, and Tom Suter, the Stumper,' Sackville,
Manns, Boyton, Lanns, Mincing, Miller, Lumpy, Francis. — C. W.

HISTORY. ii

are umpires in their usual places ; the scores are kept by men
who cut notches in tally-sticks. Such ' notches ' were ' got ' by
1 Miss Wicket,' a sportive young lady in a somewhat later carica-
ture (p. 7). The ball (1770) has heavy cross-seams. But a silver
ball, about a hundred years old, used as a snuff-box by the
Vine Club at Sevenoaks, is marked with seams like those of
to-day. Miss Wicket, also, carries a curved bat, but it has
developed beyond the rustic crooked stick, and more nearly
resembles some of the old curved bats at Load's, with which a
strong man must have hit prodigious skyers.y We may doubt
if bats were ever such ' three-man beetles ' as the players in an
undated but contemporary picture at Lord's do fillip withal.
The fields, in this curious piece, are all in a line at square-leg,
and disappear in a distance unconscious of perspective.

Cricket had even before this date reached that height of
prosperity which provokes the attention of moralists. ' Here
is a fine morning: let us go and put down some form of
enjoyment,' says the moralist. In 1743 a writer in the ' Gentle-
man's Magazine ' was moved to allege that ' the exercise may
be strained too far. . . . Cricket is certainly a very good and
wholesome exercise, yet it may be abused if either great or
little people make it their business.' The chief complaint is
that great and little people play together — butchers and baronets.
Cricket ' propagates a spirit of idleness at the very time when,
with the utmost industry, our debts, taxes, and decay of trade
will scarcely allow us to get bread.' The Lydians, according
to Herodotus, invented games to make them forget the scarcity
of bread. But the gentleman in the magazine is much more
austere than Herodotus. 'The advertisements most impu-
dently recite that great sums are laid ' ; and it was, indeed,
customary to announce a match for 500/. or 1,000/. Whether
these sums were not drawn on Fancy's exchequer, at least in
many cases, we may reasonably doubt. In his ' English Game
of Cricket' (p. 138) the learned Mr. Box quotes a tale of
betting in 171 1, from a document which he does not describe.
It appears that in 171 1 the county of Kent played All England,

12 CRICKET.

and money was lost and won, and there was a law-suit to re-
cover. The court said, 'Cricket is, to be sure, a manly game and
not bad in itself, but it is the ill-use that is made of it by betting
above 10Z. on it that is bad.' To a humble fiver on the Uni-
versity match this court would have had no kind of objection
to make. The history of betting at cricket is given by Mr.
Pycroft in the ' Cricket Field ' (chap. vi.). A most interesting
chapter it is.

The earliest laws of the game, or at least the earliest which
have reached us, are of the year 1774. A committee of noble-
men and gentlemen (including Sir Horace Mann, the Duke of
Dorset, and Lord Tankerville) drew them up at the ' Star and
Garter ' in Pall Malh, ' The pitching of the first wicket is to be
determined by the toss of a piece of money.' Does this mean
that the sides tossed for which was to pitch the wicket ? As
Nyren shows, much turned on the pitching of the wicket.
Lumpy (Stevens) ' would invariably choose the ground where
his balls would shoot.' ! In the rules of 1774, the distance
between the stumps is the same as at present. The crease is
cut, not painted. 2 The stumps are twenty-two inches in height ;
there is only one bail, of six inches in length. ' No ball,' as
far as crossing the crease goes, is just like ' no ball ' to-day.
I Indeed, the game was essentially the game of to-day, except
that if a ball were hit 'the other player may place his body
anywhere within the swing of his bat, so as to hinder the
bowler from catching her, but he must neither strike at her nor
touch her with his hands.'

At this moment of legislation, when the dim heroic age of
cricket begins to broaden into the boundless day of history,
Mr. James Love, comedian, appeared as the epic poet of the
sport 3 His quarto is dedicated to the Richmond Club, and is

1 The Cricketers Guide, fourth edition, s. a., p. 58.

* The Bishop of St. Andrews can remember when the creases were cut,
before chalk was used.

5 Cricket, An Heroic Poem, illustrated with the critical observations of
Scriblerus Maximus. By James Love, Comedian, London. Printed for the
Author, mdcclxx. (Price, One Shilling.)

(J

o

M

c
'So
§

HISTORY. 15

inspired c by a recollection of many Particulars at a time when
the Game was cultivated with the utmost Assiduity, and
patronised by the personal Appearance l and Management of
some of the most capital People in the Kingdom.'' Mr. Love,
in his enthusiasm, publishes an exhortation to Britain, to leave
all meaner sports, and cultivate cricket only.

Hail Cricket, glorious, manly, British game,
First of all sports, be first alike in fame,

sings Love, as he warms to his work. He denounces ' puny
Billiards,' played by ' Beaus, dressed in the quintessence of the
fashion. The robust Cricketer plays in his shirt, the Rev. Mr.

W d, particularly, appears almost naked/

One line of Mr. Love's,

Where fainting vice calls folly to her aid,

appears to him so excellent that he thinks it must be plagiarised,
and, in a note, invites the learned reader to find out where he
stole it from. To this a critic, Britannicus Severus, answers that
' Gentlemen who have Cricket in their heads cannot afford to
pore over a parcel of musty Authors.' Indeed, your cricketer
is rarely a bookworm.

' Leave the dissolving song, the baby dance,
To soothe the slaves of Italy and France,

and play up,' cries this English bard.

In the second book, the poet comes to business — Kent v.
All England. The poet, after the custom of his age, gives
dashes after an initial, in place of names. In notes he inter-
prets his dashes, and introduces us to Newland, of Slendon, in
Sussex, a farmer, and a famous batsman ; Bryan, of London,
bricklayer; Rumney, gardener to the Duke of Dorset; Smith,

1 Talking of appearances, there is just one story of a ghost at a cricket
match. He took great interest in the game, and went home in a dog-cart as
it seemed to the spectators, though he (the real man, not the wraith) was on
his death-bed at a considerable distance. The spectral dog- cart is the puzzle
of the Psychical Society. The scene of the apparition was the cricket ground
of a public school.

16 CRICKET.

keeper of the artillery ground ; Hodswell, the bowling tanner
of Dartford; Mills, of Bromley; Robin, commonly called Long
Robin; Mills, Sawyer, Cutbush, Bartrum, Kips, and Danes;
Cuddy, the tailor ; Derigate, of Reigate ; Weymark, the miller,
with Newland, Green, two Harrises, and Smith made up the
teams. The match is summed up in the Argument of the
Third Book.

The Game. — Five on the side of the Counties are out for three
Notches. The Odds run high on the side of Kent Bryan and
Newland go in ; they help the Game greatly. Bryan is unfortu-
nately put out by Kips. Kent, the First Innings, is Thirteen ahead.
The Counties go in again, and get Fifty-seven ahead. Kent, in the
Second Innings, is very near losing, the two last Men being in.
Weymark unhappily misses a Catch, and by that means Kent is
victorious.

It was a splendid close match — but let us pity Weymark,
immortal butter-fingers. In the first innings the wicket-keeping
of Kips to the fast bowling of Hodswell was reckoned fine.

If Love was the Homer of cricket, the minstrel who won
from forgetfulness the glories of the dim Heroic Age, Nyren,
was the delightful Herodotus of the early Historic Period.
John Nyren dedicated his 'Cricketer's Guide and Recollections
of the Cricketers of my Time,' to the great Mr. William Ward,
in 1833. He speaks of cricket as 'an elegant relaxation,' and
congratulates Mr. Ward on ' having gained the longest hands of
any player upon record.' This famed score was made on July 24,
25, 1820, on the M.C.C. ground. The number was 278, ' 108
more than any player ever gained ; ' Aylward's 167 had previ-
ously been the longest score I know. Mr. Ward's feat, moreover,
was ' after the increase of the stumps in 181 7.' Old Nyren was
charmed in his declining hours by a deed like this, yet grieved
by the modern bowlers, and their habit ' of throwing the ball.'
The history of that innovation will presently be sketched.

Nyren was born at Hambledon, in Hampshire, on December
15, 1764, and was therefore a small boy when Love sang. He
died at Bromley, June 28, 1837. Like most very great men, he

HISTORY. 17

was possibly of Scottish blood. He was a Catholic and believed
that the true spelling of the family name was Nairne, and that
they came south after being c out in the '15 or '45.' Mr. Charles
Cowden Clarke describes him as a thoroughly good and amiable
man, and as much may be guessed from his writings.

Mr. Clarke agreed with him in his dislike of round-hand
bowling, save when Lillywhite was pitted against Fuller Pilch —
a beautiful thing to see, as the Bishop of St. Andrews testifies,
1 speaking,' like Dares Phrygius of the heroes at Troy, *■ as he
that saw them.' In Nyren's youth — say 1780 — Hambledon was
the centre of cricket. The boy had a cricketing education.
He learned a little Latin of a worthy old Jesuit, but was a better
hand at the fiddle. In that musical old England, where John
Small, the noted bat, once charmed an infuriated bull by his
minstrelsy, Nyren performed a moral miracle. He played
to the gipsies, and so won their hearts that they always passed
by his hen-roost when they robbed the neighbours. Music and
cricket were the Hambledon man's delight. His father, Richard
Nyren, was, with Thomas Brett, one of the chief bowlers. Brett
was 'the fastest as well as straightest bowler that was ever
known ' ; no j'erker, but with a very high delivery. The height of
the delivery was not a la Spofforth, but was got by sending the
ball out from under the armpit. How this manoeuvre could be
combined with pace is a great mystery. Richard Nyren had
this art, ' always to the length.' Brett's bowling is described as
' tremendous,' yet Tom Sueter could stump off it — Tom of the
honourable heart, and the voice so sweet, pure and powerful.
Yet on those wickets Tom needed a long-stop to Brett— George
Lear. The Bishop has seen three long-stops on to Brown ;
1 but he was a jerker.' At that date the long-stop commonly
dropped on one knee as he received the ball. An old Eton
boy, G. B., who was at school between 1805 and 18 14, says, in
a letter to the Standard (dated September 21, 1886), that 'a
pocket-handkerchief was allowed round the dropping knee of
long-stop.' A bowler with a low delivery was Lambert, c the
little farmer.' ' His ball would twist from the off stump into

c

18 CRICKET.

the leg. He was the first I remember who introduced this deceit-
ful and teasing way of delivering the ball? Cricket was indeed
rudimentary when a break from the off was a new thing. ' The
Kent and Surrey men could not tell what to make of that
cursed twist of his.' Lambert acquired the art as Daphnis learned
his minstrelsy, while he tended his father's sheep. He would set
up hurdles instead of a net and bowl for hours. But it needed
old Nyren to teach him to bowl outside the off stump, so little
alert was the mind of this innovator. Among outsiders, Lumpy,
the Surrey man, was the most accurate ' to a length,' and he was
much faster than Lord Frederick Beauclerk. In these days the
home bowlers pitched the wickets to suit themselves. Thus they
had all the advantage of rough wickets on a slope ; yet, even
so, a yokel with pluck and ' an arm as long as a hop-pole,'
has been known to slash Lumpy all over the field. But this
could only have been done at single wicket. A curious bowler
of this age was Noah Mann, the fleetest runner of his time,
and a skilled horseman. He was a left-handed bowler, and, as
will be seen, he anticipated the magical ' pitching ' of experts
at base-ball. How he did this without throwing or jerking is
hard to be understood. ' His merit consisted in giving a curve
to the ball the whole way. In itself it was not the first-rate
style of bowling, but so very deceptive that the chief end was
frequently attained. They who remember the dexterous
manner with which the Indian jugglers communicated the
curve to the balls they spun round their heads by a twist of
the wrist or hand will at once comprehend Noah's curious
feat in bowling.' He once made a hit for ten at Windmill -
down, to which the club moved from the bleakness of Broad-
halfpenny.

We have followed Nyren's comments on bowlers for the
purpose of elucidating the evolution of their ingenious art. All
the bowlers, so far, have been under-hand, but now we hear of
1 these anointed clod-stumpers ' the Walkers. They were not of
Broadhalfpenny, but joined the club at Windmill-down, when
the move there was made on the suggestion of the Duke of

HISTORY. 19

Dorset. ' About a couple of years after Walker had been with
us' (probably about 1790), 'he began the system of throwing
instead of bowling, now so much the fashion.' He was no-
balled, after a council of the Hambledon Club, called for the
purpose. This disposes of the priority of Mr. Willes (1807),
and incidentally casts doubt on the myth that a lady invented
round-hand bowling. Nyren says, ' The first I recollect seeing
revive the custom was Wills, a Sussex man.'

From the heresiarch, Tom Walker, we come to the classic
model of a bowler in the under-hand school — that excellent
man, christian and cricketer, David Harris.

It would be difficult, perhaps impossible, to convey in writing
an accurate idea of the grand effect of Harris's bowling ; they only
who have played against him can fully appreciate it. His attitude,
when preparing for his run previously to delivering the ball, would
have made a beautiful study for the sculptor. Phidias would
certainly have taken him for a model. First of all, he stood erect
like a soldier at drill ; then, with a graceful curve of the arm, he
raised the ball to his forehead, and drawing back his right foot,
started off with his left. The calm look and general air of the man
were uncommonly striking, and from this series of preparations he
never deviated. I am sure that from this simple account of his
manner, all my countrymen who were acquainted with his play
will recall him to their minds. His mode of delivering the ball
was very singular. He would bring it from under the arm by a
twist, and nearly as high as his arm-pit, and with this action push
it, as it were, from him. How it was that the balls acquired the
velocity they did by this mode of delivery, I never could com-
prehend.

When first he joined the Hambledon Club, he was quite a raw
countryman at cricket, and had very little to recommend him but
his noble delivery. He was also very apt to give tosses. I have
seen old Nyren scratch his head, and say, — ' Harris would make
the best bowler in England if he did not toss.' By continual
practice, however, and following the advice of the old Hambledon
players, he became as steady as could be wished ; and in the prime
of his playing very rarely indeed gave a toss, although his balls
were pitched the full length. In bowling, he never stooped in
the least in his delivery, but kept himself upright all the time.

20 CRICKET.

His balls were very little beholden to the ground when pitched ; it
was but a touch, and up again ; and woe be to the man who did
not get in to block them, for they had such a peculiar curl that they
would grind his fingers against the bat ; many a time have I seen
the blood drawn in this way from a batter who was not up to
the trick : old Tom Walker was the only exception — I have before
classed him among the bloodless animals.

Harris's bowling was the finest of all tests for a hitter, and
hence the great beauty, as I observed before, of seeing Beldham
in, with this man against him ; for unless a batter were of the very
first class, and accustomed to the first style of stopping, he could
do little or nothing with Harris. If the thing had been possible, I
should have liked to have seen such a player as Budd (fine hitter
as he was) standing against him. My own opinion is, that he
could not have stopped his balls, and this will be a criterion, by
which those who have seen some of that gentleman's brilliant hits,
may judge of the extraordinary merit of this man's bowling. He
was considerably faster than Lambert, and so superior in style and
finish, that I can draw no comparison between them. Lord Frederic
Beauclerc has been heard to say that Harris's bowling was one of
the grandest things of the kind he had ever seen ; but his lordship
could not have known him in his prime ; he never saw him play
till after he had had many fits of the gout, and had become slow
and feeble.

To Harris's fine bowling I attribute the great improvement
that was made in hitting, and above all in stopping ; for it was
utterly impossible to remain at the crease, when the ball was tossed
to a fine length ; you were obliged to get in, or it would be about
your hands, or the handle of your bat ; and every player knows
where its next place would be.

This long extract is not too long, for it contains a dignified
study of the bowler.

This is the perfect Trundler, this is he,

That every man who bowls should wish to be.

Harris was admired for * the sweetness of his disposition
and his manly contempt of every action that bore the character
of meanness,' and he chiefly bowled for catches, as did Lord
Frederick Beauclerk. Nyren is no great hand at orthography,
and he soon comes to speak of a Sussex bowler named Wells.

HISTORY. 21

This is apparently the Wills, or Willes, who has more credit than
perhaps he deserves for bringing in round-hand. ' He was the
first I had seen of the new school, after the Walkers had at-
tempted to introduce the system in the Hambledon Club.'
Willes had a twist from leg, and Nyren thinks Freemantle
showed astonishing knowledge of the game because he went in
front of his wicket and hit Willes, and ' although before the
wicket, he would not have been out, because the ball had been
pitched at the outside of the stump.' A man might play, hours
on that system ' by Shrewsbury clock,' but I doubt if David
Harris would have approved of Freemantle's behaviour.

The student of the evolution of round-hand and over-hand
bowling now turns to the early exploits of William Lillywhite
(b. June 13, 1792). Whatever Mr. Willes may have done,
whatever Tom Walker may have dreamed, William LiHywhite
and Jem Broadbridge are practically the parents of modern
bowling. When Lillywhite came out, the law was that in
bowling the hand must be below the elbow. Following the
example of Mr. G. Knight, of the M.C.C., or rather going
beyond it, Lillywhite raised the hand above the shoulder,
though scarcely perceptible. Lilly white's performances in 1827
caused much discussion among cricketers and in the ' Sporting
Magazine/ Letters on this subject are reprinted by Mr. W.
Denison, in 'Sketches of the Players,' London, 1846. 1

The last great match of 1827 was between Sussex and
Kent, with Saunders and Searle given. Mr. Denison, review-
ing the match at the time, predicted that if round-hand were
allowed, there would be no driving and no cutting to point or
slip. This of course is part of Unfulfilled Prophecy. ' Broad-
bridge and others will shew that they cannot be faced on hard
ground without the most imminent peril.' As a compromise,
Mr. Denison was for allowing straight-armed bowling, ' so that

1 The edition of Nyren's Cricketer's Gtiide, used here, is the fourth,
London, s. a. I owe it to Mr. Gerald Fitzgerald. Any cricketer who has
borrowed my cwn copy of the Editio Princeps will oblige me by returning it.
—A. L.

22 CRICKET.

the back of the hand be kept under when the ball is delivered/
Mr. Steel's chapter on bowling shows what the effect of that
rule must have been.

In February, 1828, Mr. Knight published his letters in
defence of round-hand bowling. There had been, in the origin
of cricket, no law to restrain the bowlers. About 1804,
the batting acquired such mastery, and forward play with
running-in (as Nyren knew) became so vigorous, that Willes
and Tom Walker tried round-hand. This round-hand was
'straight armed, and for a time (1818-28) did very well, till
bowlers took to raising the hand, even above the head.' M.C.C.
then proclaimed an edict against all round-hand bowling.
Mr. Knight proposed to admit straight-armed bowling, which
could not be called 'throwing/ To define a throw was as
hard then as now — a man knows it when he sees it ; it is like
the trot in horses. Mr. Knight's proposed law ran, ' The ball
shall be bowled ; if it be thrown or jerked, or if any part of the
hand or arm be above the shoulder at the time of delivery, the
umpire shall call No Ball. 1

In one of the trial matches (Sept. 1827) it is said that Mr.
Knight, Broadbridge, and Lillywhite, all bowled high over the
shoulder. There are no wides in the score. When a man was
caught, the bowler's name was not given. Lillywhite has thus
no wicket to his name.

Mr. Knight's law was discussed at Lord's (May 19, 1828),
and the word elbow substituted for shoulder. But Lillywhite
and Broadbridge bowled as before, and found many followers,
till the M.C.C. passed the law proposed by Mr. Knight. But
the hand was soon raised, and the extraordinary pace of Mr.
Mynn (born 1807) was striven for by men who had not his
weight and strength. These excesses caused a re-enactment of
the over-the-shoulder law in 1845.

Lillywhite was now recognised as the reviver of cricket.
His analysis in 1844 and 1845 gives about 6 J runs for each
wicket. Round-hand, with a practical license for over-hand, was
now established; but, as late as i860, a high delivery was a

HISTORY. 23

rarity. The troublesome case of Willsher ended in permitting
any height of delivery, and the greatest of all bowlers, Mr.
Spofforth, sends in the ball from the utmost altitude.

This is a brief account of the evolution of round and over-
hand bowling. As to slow and fast bowling, Lord Frederick
Beauclerk and one of the Walkers were very slow bowlers in old
days. William Clarke {b. Dec. 24, 1798) was the classical slow
bowler. Clarke was not a regular lob bowler, but, like Lambert,
delivered ' about midway between the height of the elbow and
the strict under-hand, accompanied by a singular peculiarity of
action with the hand and wrist just as the ball is about to be
discharged. ! ' He had a tremendous twist, and great spin and
ingenuity. Perhaps his success was partly due to the rarity of
slow bowling in his time. Men imitated Mr. Mynn, who was
as big a man as Mr. W. G. Grace, and a very fast bowler. In
old underhand times, Brett had a ' steam-engine pace,' and
later, Browne of Brighton was prodigiously fast. The Bishop
of St. Andrews remembers seeing a ball of Browne's strike the
stumps with such force and at such a point that both bails flew
back as far as the bowler's wicket. That was at Brighton. He
also remembers how at Lord's, when Browne bowled, all the field
were placed behind the wicket, or nearly so, that is at slip, leg,
and long-stop, till Ward went in, who, playing with an upright
bat, contrived to poke the ball to the off, and Browne himself
(a tall, heavy man) had to go after it. But this having happened
more than once, a single field was placed in front. Yet Beld-
ham, as Mr. Py croft tells, quite mastered Browne, and made 76
off him in a match. Beldham was then fifty-four. Browne's
pace was reckoned superior to that of Mr. Osbaldeston. It is
not easy to decide who has been the fastest of fast bowlers. In
our own day, I think that Mr. Cecil Boyle, when he bowled for
Oxford (1873), was the swiftest I have seen, except a bowler
unknown south of the Tweed, Mr. Barclay, now a clergyman
in Canada. Mr. Barclay was faster with under-hand than with
round-hand. Beldham and his comrades played Browne with-

1 Sketches of the Players, p. 23.

24 CRICKET.

out pads ; I have seen this tried against Mr. Barclay — the re-
sults were damaging. Famous names of fast bowlers are Mynn,
Marcon, Fellowes, Tarrant, Jackson, Freeman, Hope Grant,
Powys, and Robert Lang.

The history of bowling precedes that of batting, because
the batsman must necessarily adapt his style to the bowling,
not vice versa. He must also adapt it to the state of the
wickets. There are times when a purely rural style of play, a
succession of ' agrarian outrages,' is the best policy. Given an
untrustworthy wicket, good bowling, fielding ground in heavy
grass, a stone wall on one side, and another wall, with a nice
flooded burn beyond, on another side, and a batsman will be well
advised if he lifts the ball over the boundaries and into the
brook. Perhaps Mr. Steel will recognise the conditions de-
scribed, and remember Dalbeattie. /in the origin of cricket,
when the stumps were low, and the Dat a crooked club, hitting
hard, high, and often must have been the rule. A strong man
with good sight must have been the pride of the village. When
David Harris, Tom Walker, Lumpy, Brett, and other heroes
brought in accuracy, spin, twist, and pace, with taller wickets
to defend, this batting was elaborated by Beldham and Sueter
and others into an art., Tom Sueter, first, fathered the heresy of
leaving the crease, and going in to the pitch or half- volley. l Sir
Horace Mann's bailiff, Aylward, was the Shrewsbury of an elder
age. ' He once stayed in two whole days, and got the highest
number of runs that had ever been gained by any member —
one hundred and sixty -seven. 7 Tom Walker was a great stick.
Lord Frederick was bowling to him at Lord's. Every ball
he dropped down just before his bat. Off went his lordship's
white, broad-brimmed hat, dash upon the ground (his constant
action when disappointed), calling him at the same time 'a con-
founded old beast.' * I doan't care what ee zays,' said Tom,
whose conduct showed a good deal more of courtesy and self-
control than Lord Frederick's. Perhaps the master-bat of old
times was William Beldham from Farnham. He comes into

1 Nyren, op. cit. p. 50.

HISTORY. 25

Bentley's 'Cricket Scores 'as early as 1787. The players called
him ' Silver Billy.' He was coached by Harry Hall, the ginger-
bread baker of Farnham. Hall's great maxim was ' the left
elbow well up.'

From Nyren I extract a description of Beldham's batting : —

Beldham was quite a young man when he joined the Ham-
bledon Club ; and even in that stage of his playing, I hardly ever
saw a man with a finer command of his bat ; but, with the instruc-
tion and advice of the old heads superadded, he rapidly attained
to the extraordinary accomplishment of being the finest player that
has appeared within the latitude of more than half a century.
There can be no exception against his batting, or the severity of
his hitting. He would get in at the balls, and hit them away in a
gallant style ; yet, in this single feat, I think I have known him
excelled ; but when he could cut them at the point of the bat, he
was in his glory ; and upon my life, their speed was as the speed
of thought. One of the most beautiful sights that can be imagined,
and which would have delighted an artist, was to see him make
himself up to hit a ball. It was the beau iddal of grace, animation,
and concentrated energy. In this peculiar exhibition of elegance
with vigour, the nearest approach to him I think was Lord Frederick
Beauclerc. Upon one occasion at Mary-le-bone, I remember these
two admirable batters being in together, and though Beldham was
then verging towards his climacteric, yet both were excited to a
competition, and the display of talent that was exhibited between
them that day was the most interesting sight of its kind I ever
witnessed. I should not forget, among his other excellencies, to
mention that Beldham was one of the best judges of a short run I
ever knew ; add to which, that he possessed a generally good
knowledge of the game.

In 1838 Beldham used to gossip with Mr. Pycroft. That
learned writer gives Fennex great credit for introducing the
modern style of forward play about 1800 ; this on the evidence
of Fennex himself (1 760-1839). But probably accurate bowl-
ing, with a fast rise, on fairly good wickets, must have taught
forward play naturally to Fennex, Lambert, Fuller Pilch, and
others It is not my purpose to compile a minute chronicle
of cricket, to mark each match and catch, nor to chant

26 CRICKET.

the illustrious deeds ot all famous men. The great name of
Mr. Ward has been already mentioned. The Bishop of St.
Andrews, when a Harrow boy, played against Mr. Ward, and
lowered his illustrious wicket for three runs. 1 Thus, with Mr.
Ward, we come within the memory of living cricketers. Much
more is this the case with Mr. Budd, Fuller Pilch, Alfred Mynn,
Hayward and Carpenter, Humphrey and Jupp. Mr. Mynn
was the son of a gentleman farmer at Bearstead, near Maidstone.
His extraordinary pace actually took wickets by storm ; men
were bowled before they knew where they were. The assiduous
diligence of Mr. Ward was a match for him. When about to
meet Mynn, he would practise with the fastest of the ground
bowlers at Lord's, at eighteen or nineteen yards' rise, so to
speak. Mr. Ward's great reach also stood him in good stead.
Mr. Mynn's pace, and the excesses committed by his imitators,
for some time demoralised batting. Few balls were straight
(among the imitatores, servum pecus), and men went in to hit
what they could reach. The joy of getting hold of a leg-ball
from a very fast bowler, or of driving him, overpowered caution,
and these violent delights might have had violent ends if
accuracy had not returned to bowling. In 1843 Mr. Mynn's
analysis gave 5! a wicket. His average was but 17 an innings.
Scores were shorter fifty years ago. 2

My attempt has been to trace the streams of tendency in
cricket rather than to produce a chronicle — a work which would
require a volume to itself. Nothing has been said about field-
ing ; because, however the ball is bowled, and however hit, the
tasks of catching it, stopping it, and returning it with speed
have always been the same. True, different styles of batting

1 It was three or five — I forget which. I know it was the lowest score he
had that year !— C. W.

2 Was this so? The long scores caused the introduction of round-hand
bowling. From among my brother's papers (late Bishop of Lincoln) a letter
has lately been returned to me which contains the following : — * Christ Church.
Oxford : May 24, 1831. — Cricket, I suppose, does not interest you ; but you
may like to know that in three following innings, on three following days last
week, I got 328 runs. Christ Church has been playing — and beating — the
University.' — C. W.

HISTORY. 27

and bowling require alterations in the position of the fielders. 1
But the principles of their conduct and the nature of their
duty remain unaltered. One change may be noted. In
'Juvenile Sports,' by Master Michel Angelo, 2 the author speaks
of byes and overthrows as 'a new mode,' 'an innovation with
which I am by no means pleased. It is indeed true that this
places the seekers out continually on their guard, and obliges
them to be more mindful of their play ; but then it diminishes
the credit of the player, in whose hands the bat is, as a game
may be won by a very bad batsman owing to the inability of
the wicket-man, or the inattention of the seekers-out.'

The fallacy of this argument does not need to be exposed.

M.C.C.

No sketch of the history of cricket would be complete with-
out a note on the fortunes of the (Marylebone Club. This is the
Parliament of cricket, and includes almost all the amateurs of
merit. / There is nothing very formal in its construction ; and
any clubs which please may doubtless arrange among them-
selves to play not according to M.C.C. rules. But nobody so
pleases ; and Marylebone legislates practically for countries that
were not even known to exist when wickets were pitched at
Guildford in the reign of Henry VIII. Marylebone is the
Omphalos, the Delos of cricket.

The club may be said to have sprung from the ashes of the
White Conduit Club, dissolved in 1787. One Thomas Lord,
by the aid of some members of the older association, made a
ground in the space which is now Dorset Square. This was
the first ' Lord's.' As to Lord, he is dubiously said (like the
ancestors of Nyren) to have been a Scot and a Jacobite, or
mixed up, at least, in some way with the '45. Lord was
obliged to move to North Bank, and finally, in 18 14, to the

1 My experience, in one respect, is, I suppose, unique. Hitting a leg-ball, I
alarmed the umpire, who turned round, and I was caught by the wicket-keeper
off his back ! Naturally enough — but yet— justly ? he gave me out I— C. W.

3 London, 1776, p. 76.

28 CRICKET.

present ground. The famous Mr. Ward had played at Lord's
before this migration ; his first match here was in 1810, and
he played, more or less, till 1847, being then sixty years of age.
His bats are said to have weighed four pounds. Mr. Ward
bought the lease of the ground from Lord in 1825, 'at a most
exorbitant rate ;' and, in 1830, Dark bought the remainder of
the lease from him. The first match on our present Lord's,
or the first recorded, was M.C.C. v. Hertfordshire, June 22,
1 8 14. In 1825 the pavilion was burned, after a Winchester
and Harrow match. The burning of the Alexandrian Library
may be compared to the wholesale destruction of cricket records
on this melancholy occasion. In 1816 the Club reviewed the
Laws : the result will be found in Lillywhite's ' Scores,' i. 385.
* No more than two balls to be allowed at practice when a
fresh bowler takes the ball before he proceeds.' A great deal
too much time is now wasted over these practice balls. * The
ball must be delivered underhanded, not thrown or jerked,
with the hand below the elbow at the time of delivering the
ball.' The umpire is to call ' no ball,' 'if the back of the hand
be uppermost.' As to l.b.w., the batter is out 'if with his foot
or leg he stop the ball which the bowler, in the opinion of the
umpire, shall have pitched in a straight line" to the wicket,
and would have hit it.'

The names of the Presidents are only on record after the
fire. Ponsonby, Grimston, Darnley, Coventry are among the
most notable. The renowned Mr. Aislabie was secretary till
his death in 1842 • in the pavilion his bust commemorates
him. Mr. Kynaston and Mr. Fitzgerald, of ' Jerks In from Short
Leg,' are other celebrated secretaries. In 1868 the Club pur-
chased a lease of 99 years, at the cost of 11,000/. There have
been recent additions to the area, and to that celebrated
monument, the pavilion.

Lord's is, as all the world knows, the scene, not only of
Club and of Middlesex matches, but of Eton and Harrow,
Oxford and Cambridge, and Gentlemen and Players, which is
also contested at the Oval. Winchester used moreover to play

HISTORY. 31

Eton here, but the head-masters have long preferred a home
and home affair. In other chapters these great matches wilJ
be chronicled and criticised.

The various epochs in the history of the game may now be
briefly enumerated by way of summary. First we have the
prehistoric age, when cricket was dimly struggling to evolve
itself out of the rudimentary forms of cat-and-dog, and stool -
ball. This preceded 154-, when we find an authentic mention
of the name of Cricket. Just about the end of the seven-
teenth century it was mainly a boys' game. With the Augustan
age it began to be taken up by statesmen, and satirised by that
ideal whippersnapper, the ingenious but in all respects un-
sportsmanlike, Mr. Pope. By 1750 the game was matter of
heavy bets, and scores began to be recorded. The old Ham-
bledon Club gave it dignity, and the veterans endured till quite
modern times dawn with Mr. Ward. Then came the pros-
perous heresy of round-hand bowling, which battled for exis-
tence till about 1845, when it became a recognised institution.
The wandering clubs, chiefly I. Z. and the Free Foresters at
first, carried good examples into the remoter gardens of our
country. The migratory professional teams, the United and
All England Elevens at least, showed the yokels what style
meant, and taught them that Jackson and Tinley were their
masters. But the lesson lasted too long. Nothing was less
exhilarating than the spectacle of twenty provincial players,
with Hodgson and Slinn, making many duck's eggs, and
fielding in a mob. ' The first 'ad me on the knee, the next
on the wrist, the next blacked my eye, and the fourth bowled
me,' says the Pride of the Village, in ' Punch,' after enjoying
'a hover from Jackson.' Such violent delights had violent
ends. The old travelling elevens are extinct, but railways
have ' turned large England to a little ' field, so to speak, and
clubs may now meet which of old scarcely knew each other by
name. The Australian elevens have in recent days given a
great impulse to patriotic exertions.

32 CRICKET.

Scotch cricket is a thing of this century. Football and
golf are the native pastimes of my countrymen, as hurling is of
Ireland. The Old Grange Club is the M.C.C. of the North.
The West of Scotland and Drumpellier are other clubs of
standing. That ever-flourishing veteran, Major Dickens, still
upholds the honour of Kelso. The Moncrieffs have, been the
Wards and Budds of Edinburgn, nor will a touching patriotism
allow me here to omit the name of George Charles Hamilton
Dunlop. For some reasons Scotland has not been productive
of bowlers. Professionals are seldom reared there, nor have
amateurs devoted themselves to the more scientific and less
popular part of the game. Mr. Barclay has already been
commemorated for his speed ; a few only will remember Mr.
Sinclair and Mr. Glassford, who died young, and very much re-
gretted. Few men have done more for Scotch cricket than Mr.
H. H. Almond, head-master of Loretto School, which has con-
tributed several players to the Oxford eleven. An old 'pewter'
may here congratulate Mr. Almond on the energy with which
he kept his boys to the mark, and on the undaunted example
which he set by always going in first. The names of Arthur
Cheyne, Jack Mackenzie, Edward Henderson, Chalmers, Hay
Brown, Leslie Balfour, and Tom Marshall are only a few that
crowd on the memory of the elderly Caledonian cricketer. In
the Border district, of which more hereafter, the houses of
Buccleuch and Roxburgh have been great friends of the game,
and that was a proud day for ' the Rough Clan ' when Lord
George Scott scored over 160 in the University match of 1887.
Abbotsford, too, has been well to the front, thanks to the
Hon. J. Maxwell Scott, and, for some reason, Scotland has
been occasionally represented by Mr. A. G. Steel, and the Hon.
Ivo Bligh, known to the local press as ' the Titled Batsman.'
But these are alien glories et non sua poma.

Three things are prejudicial to Scotch cricket. First, there
is the climate, about which more words were superfluous.
Next, boys leave school earlier than in England, for professions
or for college. Lastly, the University ' session ' is in the winter

HISTORY.

33

months, and the University clubs are therefore at a great
disadvantage. I shall never forget the miraculous wickets
we tried to pitch on the old College Green at Glasgow, and
the courage displayed by divinity students in standing up to
Mr. Barclay there. As for St. Andrews, golf is too much with
us on that friendly shore, and will brook no rival.

%• The author of the historical introduction is much indebted
to the Bishop of St. Andrews, a veteran of the first University
Match, for his kindness in revising proofs, and adding notes. He
has also to thank the Viscountess Wolseley for the loan of her
picture of * Miss Wicket ' ; and Mr. Charles Mills, M.P., for a sight
of the silver ball of the Vine Club. It was filled with snuff, and
tossed from hand to hand after dinner ; he who dropped it being
fined in claret, or some other liquor.

34

CRICKET.

CHAPTER II.

BATTING.

(By the Hon. R. H. Lyttelton.)

H E

great
and
supreme
art of bat-
ting constitutes
to the large ma-
jority of cricket-
ers the most en-
joyable part of
the game. There
are three espe-
cially delightful
moments in life
connected with
games, and only
those who have
experienced all
three can realise

Fig. x.-The champion. what theSe m °'

ments are. They

are d) the cut stroke at tennis, when the striker wins chase

BATTING. 35

one and two on the floor ; (2) the successful drive at golf,
when the globe is despatched on a journey of 180 yards ; (3)
a crack to square -leg off a half- volley just outside the legs.
When once the sensation has been realised by any happy
mortal, he is almost entitled to chant in a minor key a ' Nunc
Dimittis,' to feel that the supreme moment has come, and that
he has not lived in vain.

After what has been said in the foregoing chapter we shall
here only touch upon the cricket of the past in so far as seems
necessary to make this dissertation on batting tolerably com-
plete, and shall then proceed to discuss the principles and
science of the art as it now exists.

The shape of the bat in the year 1 746 — which may be taken
as a beginning, for it was in that year that the first score of a
match was printed and handed down to posterity, at any rate
in Lillywhite's ' Scores and Biographies ' — resembled a thick
crooked stick more than a modern bat.

From the shape of the bat, obviously adapted to meet
the ball when moving along the ground, one may infer that
the bowlers habitually delivered a style of ball we now call a
'sneak.' How long this system of bowling remained in vogue
cannot exactly be told. The famous William Beldham, who
was born in 1766, and lived for nearly one hundred years, is
reported by Nyren to have said that when he was a boy nearly
all bowling was fast and along the ground. As long as this
was the case it is probable that the bat was nothing but a club,
for if the ball never left the ground the operative part of the
bat would naturally be at the very bottom, as is usual in clubs.
The renowned Tom Walker was the earliest lob bowler ; he
probably took to the style late in life, or about the year 1800,
and several bowlers, notably the great E. H. Budd, raised the
arm slightly; but it is believed that the first genuine round-arm
bowlers were William Lillywhite and James Broadbridge, both
of Sussex, who first bowled the new style in 1827. That year
was from this cause a year of revolution in cricket, and the
shape of the modern bat dates from that period. As a rule, up

D 2

36 CRICKET.

to the year 1 800 the style of batting was back. William Fennex
is supposed to have been the inventor of forward play, and Beld
ham reports a saying of one Squire Paulett, who was watching
Fennex play : 'You do frighten me there, jumping out of you)
ground.' The great batsmen of the early era of cricket were
Lord Frederick Beauclerk, Mr. Budd, Beldham, Bentley,
Osbaldeston, William Ward, Beagley, William Lambert, Jem
Broadbridge, W. Hooker, Saunders, and Searle. The great
skill of these players, when opposed to under-hand bowling,
was what determined the Sussex players to alter the style o(
bowling, and, indeed, it is generally the fact that too great
abundance of runs raises questions as to the desirability of
altering rules.

After the year 1827 the shape of the bat became very like
what it is now, but it was much heavier in the blade and thinner
in the handle, which seems to indicate that the play was mostly
•of the forward driving style, and the great exponent of this
method of play was the renowned Fuller Pilch. Anyone who
has the opportunity of handling a bat of this period will find
that its weight renders it inconvenient for cutting, but suitable
for forward play. The change from under-hand bowling to
round-arm having been effected by slow developments makes it
probable that the style of play was generally forward until the
under-hand bowling was altogether superseded by round -arm.
Some bowlers followed the new order of things by changing
from under to round-arm. Round-arm bowling was at first less
accurate than under-hand, and consequently all-round hitting
greatly developed ; and we find Felix, the father of cutting, who
began play in 1828, chiefly renowned for this hit. Scoring
greatly diminished when round-arm bowling was thoroughly
established, and increased again as grounds got better.

Judging from the scores of that day, the best bat in England
from 1827 to 1850 was Fuller Pilch, and his scoring would
compare favourably with that of nearly all modern players till
1874, with the exception of W. G. Grace. He was a tall man,
and used to smother the ball by playing right out forward.

BATTING. 37

The principle on which his whole play was founded was
evidently to get at the pitch and take care of the ball before
breaks, bumps, and shooters had time to work their devilries.
In order to carry out this method, he used frequently to leave
his ground, and consequently the famous Wm. Clarke always
found Pilch a harder nut to crack than any of his other con-
temporaries.

Clarke's slow balls tolerably well up were met by Pilch, who
left his ground and drove him forward with a straight bat.
His master appears to have been the great Sam Redgate, who
was fast and ripping, and who on one occasion got him out for
a pair of spectacles, while, on the other hand, twice in his life
he got over ioo runs against Wm. Lilly white's bowling, con-
sidered in those days to be an extraordinary feat. After Pilch,
Joseph Guy, of Nottingham, and E. G. Wenman, of Kent, were
considered the best ; but several- C. G. Taylor, Mynn, Felix,
and Marsden, for example — scored largely, and they all passed
through a golden age of bowling, namely, about 1839, when
Lillywhite, Redgate, Mynn, Cobbett, and Hillyer all flourished,
to say nothing of Sir F. Bathurst, Tom Barker, and others.

From the year 1855, wnen Fuller Pilch left off play, to the
year 1868, when W. G. Grace burst on the world with a lustre
that no previous batsman had ever approached, there was,
nevertheless, a grand array of batsmen — among professionals,
Hay ward, Carpenter, Parr, Daft, CarTyn, Mortlock, and Julius
Caesar ; and among amateurs, Hankey, F. H. Norman, C. G.
Lane, C. G. Lyttelton, Mitchell, Lubbock, Buller, V. E. Walker,
and Maitland. These are a few of the great names. They are,
however, surrounded by several almost as renowned, such as
Stephenson, T. Humphrey, Hearne, Cooper, Burbidge, Griffith,
and others ; all these, we think, made this era of the game
productive of more exciting cricket than has been known since.
1 1 may seem odd, but the overpowering genius of W. G. Grace
after this time somewhat spoilt the excitement of the game.
His side was never beaten. Crowds thronged to see him play,
all bowling was alike to him, and the record of Gloucestershire

38 CRICKET.

cricket, champion county for some time through his efforts, is
the only instance of one man practically making an eleven for
several years. The other Gloucestershire players will be the
first to acknowledge the truth of this. Gloucestershire rose
with a bound into the highest rank among counties when
W. G. Grace attained his position amongst batsmen, a head
and shoulders above any other cricketer. In his prime
Gloucestershire challenged and on one occasion defeated
England ; when he declined, Gloucestershire declined ; in his
old age she shows signs of renewing her youth, for which all
credit is due to young Townsend, Jessop, Champain, and Board.
To return to the period between 1855 and 1868 : the greater
equality of players made the matches more exciting and
established a keener because more evenly balanced rivalry.
The grounds were not so true as those of to-day, and the
matches were not so numerous ; consequently cricketers were
not so frequently worn out by the wear and tear of long fielding
and days and nights of travel as they are now. The long
individual scores having been less in number and at longer
intervals, the few great innings were more vividly stamped on
the memory, and it is doubtful if even the modern 200 runs
per innings will survive as historical facts longer than Hankey's
famous innings of 70 against the Players on Lord's, Daft's 118
in North v South on the same ground, and Hay ward's 112
against Gentlemen, also on Lord's.

The bowling during this period was generally fast or
medium, varied by lobs, but of genuine slow round, like
that of Peate, Buchanan, Alfred Shaw, and Tyler, there was
hardly any in first-class matches. To fast bowling runs come
quicker than they do to slow ; consequently the game was
of more interest to the ordinary spectator, and there was
none of that painful slowness, in consequence of the extra-
ordinary accuracy of modern slower bowling, that is so com-
mon now, and helps to produce so many drawn matches.
Though now, in the year 1897, the average bowling pace is
slower than it was in the sixties, it is nevertheless faster than it

BA TTING. 39

was in the seventies. The professionals had literally only
one genuine slow round-arm bowler in those days — George
Bennett, of Kent — and of course this fact accounted largely
for the batting style of the period. Wickets being often rough,
the most paying length for fast bowling was naturally that
length which gave the ground most chance, and prevented
the smothering style of play — a little shorter than the blind
spot, compelling back play over the crease, instead of forward
play. The best batsmen were great masters of this style of
play, with which the name of Carpenter is strongly identified.
To modern players the sight of Carpenter or Daft dropping
down on a dead shooter from a bowler of the pace of George
Freeman or Jackson was a wonderful one ; but it is rapidly
becoming a memory only, for in these days a shooter may be
said not to exist. Now, in 1897, a wonderful feature of our
great fast bowlers — pre-eminently Richardson — is not that they
bowl straighter than Freeman or Jackson, but that they never
bowl a ball on the legs or outside the legs. The result is that
orthodox leg hitting, and in particular the smite to long-leg
with a horizontal bat, and much nearer the ground than a
square-leg hit, is never seen. During the entire progress of a
match nowadays, between Notts and Lancashire, or Yorkshire
and Notts, the unhappy batsman will not get a single ball out-
side his legs to hit. So great is the accuracy of the bowling,
that over after over will go by, and not even a ball on his legs
will soothe his careworn and anxious brain. This accurate
bowling has caused another change in the way of batting. As
no ball is bowled on the leg side at all, so it consequently
follows there is no fieldsman on the on side except a forward
short-leg and a deep field. The batsman therefore waits till
the bowler slightly overtosses a ball — whether pitched outside
the off stump or on the wicket he cares not ; he sweeps it
round to square leg, where no fieldsman stands, and he makes
four runs by the hit. In other words, he deliberately ' pulls '
it. Twenty years ago, on seeing such a hit, the famous Bob
Grimston would have shown his emphatic disapproval in a

40 CRICKET.

characteristic manner. But the match must be won by runs ;
to attain this object the ball must be hit where there is no
field, and it is useless to waste energy by hitting the ball to
every fieldsman on the off side.

W. W. Read, Stoddart, and F. S. Jackson are all masters
of this stroke, which revives the drooping attention of the
crowd and relieves the monotony of the scorers. To all fast
bowling the cut is a hit largely in vogue, and the perfection to
which some players arrive with regard to this stroke is a joy to
themselves and to the spectators. It is, of course, as will be
explained later on. much easier to cut fast bowling than slow,
and the heroes of the cut whenever fast bowling is on are, and
were, always numerous.

The champion cutter of old times, by universal testimony,
was C. G. Lyttelton, whose hits in the direction of point are
remembered by spectators to this day. Tom Humphrey, of
Surrey, was another great cutter ; and there was a player,
not of the first rank, who was famous for this hit — namely,
E. P. Ash, of the Cambridge University Eleven, 1865 and
1866.

The five champion bats of this era — 1855 to 1868 — were,
in the opinion of the writer, Hayward, Carpenter, Parr,
Daft, and R. A. H. Mitchell. The scoring of Hayward and
Carpenter between i860 and 1864 was very large ; both ex-
celled on rough wickets, and it is on these wickets that genius
exhibits itself.

In all times of cricket, until the appearance of W. G. Grace,
there has been a large predominance of skill amongst the
professionals as compared with the amateurs. We are talking
now of batting j in bowling the difference has been still more
to the advantage of the professionals. The Gentlemen won
a match now and then, but their inferiority was very great.
W. G. Grace altered all this ; and from 1868 to 1880 the
Gentlemen had a run of success which will probably never be
seen again. It was entirely owing to him, though the Players
were astonishingly weak in batting from 1870 to 1876 ; but

BATTING. 41

nothing could stop the crack, and his scoring in the two
annual contests was simply miraculous.

We will now attempt to lay before our readers a more
detailed exposition of the principles which ought to govern
sound batting, and a careful observance of which is found in
the method of every sound player. The first consideration is
the choice of a bat, and as to this each individual must deter-
mine for himself what is the most suitable. It is probable that
a strong man will prefer a heavier bat than a batsman of less
muscular calibre. In any case the style of play is an impor-
tant consideration, but the secret of all batting, and especially
hitting, is correct timing j this is a quality which cannot be taught,
but this is what makes a weak man hit harder than a strong
man — the one knows exactly the fraction of a second when all
that is muscular, all that he has got in wrist and shoulders,
must be applied, the other does not.

At the beginning of this century, when the bowling was
fast under-hand, the bat used was of a style suitable for meeting
such balls — namely, a heavy blade with great weight at the
bottom ; for, as already mentioned, the bowling being straight
and frequently on the ground, driving was the common stroke,
and for this a heavy blade is best adapted. So now, if a player
finds that he does not possess a wrist style of play, but a
forward driving game, he will probably choose a heavier bat
than the wrist-player j for a forward drive is more of a body
stroke — that is, the whole muscular strength of the shoulders
and back is brought into use, and the ball, being fully met,
gives more resistance to the bat than a ball which is cut.
This, perhaps, needs a little explanation. Just consider for a
moment, and realise the fact that a tolerably fast ball, well
up and quite straight, has been delivered. Such a ball is just
the ball that ought to be driven. The batsman lunges for-
ward and meets it with very nearly the centre of his bat, just
after the ball has landed on the ground, at the time, there-
fore, when, if there is any spin on it, it is going at its fast-
est pace. Obviously, therefore, when the pace and weight of
the ball are taken into consideration, there is great resistance

42 CRICKET.

given to the lunge forward of the bat. The heavier the blade
of the bat the better is it able to withstand and resist the
contrary motion of the ball. As a rule, players are not equally
good both at the forward driving and the wrist-playing games.
Some few excel in both, but usually batsmen have preferences.
Now let us examine the cut — of course we are now discussing
a ball on the off side of the wicket. A wrist-player will cut a
ball that the exponent of the driving style would drive, and
therefore meet with the full, or nearly full, bat. The cutter does
not meet the ball, for the ball has gone past him before he hits
it. Take a common long-hop on the off side. The driver
meets it with a more or less horizontal bat, and hits it forward
between cover-point and mid-off, or cover-point and point,
thereby resisting the ball and sending it almost in an opposite
direction to its natural course. He hits the ball some time before
it arrives on a level with his body, while the cutter, on the other
hand, does not hit the ball so soon ; in fact, he hits it when it is
about a foot in front of the line of the wicket, sometimes almost
on a level with the wicket. He then, with his wrist, hits it in the
direction of third man. He does not meet the ball at all, but he
takes advantage of the natural pace of the ball and, as it were,
steers it from the normal course towards long-stop, in the direc-
tion of third man. The whole essence of the distinction lies
in this fact, that in driving the ball is met directly by the bat ;
in cutting this is not so ; but the ball is, as it were, helped
on, only in a different direction. The faster the bowling, the
harder, therefore, will be the cut. The reader will at once
see from this that the wrist-player will probably prefer a lighter
bat than the driving batsman, and a bat that comes up well, as
it is called, or is more evenly balanced.

We will now suppose a batsman properly equipped in pads
and, at any rate, one glove on the right hand, and with a
bat to his taste ; our next inquiry must be as to his position
at the wicket. He must remember that, after having chosen
one position — the most natural and convenient to him— he
ought to adopt that position invariably ; not alter it from

BATTING. 43

day to day. You never see any material alteration in the
position of any great player, and if anyone takes the very
necessary trouble to find out the easiest position, he will be
a foolish man who varies it, as any change must be for the
worse. There is an old engraving, often seen, of a match
between Surrey and Kent about the year 1840. Old William
Lillywhite is about to bowl, and Fuller Pilch is about to play.
The attitude and position of Pilch were taken by the author of
1 The Cricket Field ' as a model ; and there is no objection to
be raised to the position: it is a fair assumption that it was the
natural and most convenient position for Fuller Pilch himself.
The author, however, goes on to say that this is substantially
the attitude of every good batsman. To this we can only rejoin,
that out of the thousands of batsmen who have played cricket,
it would be difficult to find two who stand exactly alike. To
begin with, some stand with their feet close together, others
have them apart; some indeed so far apart that it almost seems
as if they were trying to solve the problem of how much length
of ground can be covered between the two feet. Some stand
with the right foot just on the leg side of a straight line drawn
between the leg-stump of the batsman's wicket and the off
stump of the opposite wicket ; others stand with the right foot
twelve inches or thereabouts from the leg-stump in the direc-
tion of short-leg. Players who adopt this position run a risk of
being bowled off their legs, one would think; but they ought to
know best ; we should not, however, advise a beginner to adopt
this attitude. W. G. Grace faces the ball, and there is no inter-
vening space between his hands whilst holding the bat and
his legs. If you look at the position of Pilch, you will see a
considerable interval of distance from the back of his left
hand and the right leg. There were three notable batsmen —
namely, A. N. Hornby, W. Yardley, and F. E. R. Fryer — who
used to throw their left leg right across the wicket so as almost
to hide it from the view of the bowler.

Mr. A. J. Webbe stoops very much in his position, while
some players stand almost at full height ; notably is this the case

44

CRICKET.

his right foot to fast bowling

with W. G. Grace. There are, as far as we know, only three
rules which must be observed in taking up a position. The first
is (i) stand so that no part of the right foot is in front of the
wicket or outside the crease ; (2) stand in the attitude most
natural and convenient to yourself ; (3) do not place the toes of
the right foot materially nearer the wicket than the heel. The
first rule is essential, for the good player never ought to move

If, therefore, any part is in front of
the wicket, he runs a risk
of being leg before wicket
when the ball beats the
bat ; if his foot is outside
the crease he is in danger
of being stumped ; and if
the toes of the right foot
are materially nearer the
wicket than the heel, he
will find himself in a very
awkward position, unable
to get over the ball. Sub-
ject to these rules, the bats-
man takes any position he
pleases. The bat should
be held firmly with the
right hand and loosely or
comparatively loosely with
the left ; neither hand
should be tightly clenched. The late Mr. Wm. Ward spoke the
truth when he told a sculptor who had made a statue of a bats-
man at guard that he was no cricketer — the wrists were too
rigid and hands too much clenched. It seems that most players
lift their bat from the block-hole while the bowler is running
prior to delivering the ball, and fig. 2 shows W. G. Grace stand-
ing just before the ball leaves the bowler's hand. His whole
position is changed from what it was a few seconds before. His
first position before the bowler has begun his run, is given in the

Fig. 2. — W. G. Grace ready to receive
the ball.

BATTING. 45

sketch at the head of the chapter. The figure here shows
him to be standing almost at his full height, his hat suspended
in the air, and his weight if anything thrown rather on his
right foot. Most players, however, take up a position and stick
to it, except that they raise the bat slightly just before the ball
leaves the bowler's hand. Nature is the best guide. Let every
player therefore find out the easiest attitude and always adopt it.
We will now consider the manner in which the bat should
be held by the hands. This varies in a few trifling particulars
with different players : but in very rare instances is there any
substantial difference. The muscles ought not to be in a
state of rigidity, and whilst the batsman is standing in position
waiting for the ball the bat should be held firmly, but not
by any means tightly. The batsman cannot depend on any
particular ball coming to him ; consequently, while the ball is in
the air, his mind has to be made up ; he has then to set him-
self for a stroke determined absolutely by the pace, length, and
direction of the ball, and there are only a few seconds for him
both to make up his mind and make the stroke. There is, no
doubt, a scientific, anatomical reason why quickness of hand
and muscles is incompatible with rigidity of muscle, but quite
practicable when the muscles and sinews are in a natural and
easy state of elasticity ; but any man will find this out for him-
self if he begins to play. Hold the bat, then, loosely with the left
hand, nearly at the top of the handle, with the back of the hand
turned full towards the bowler, the fingers folded round the
handle, and the thumb lying easily between the first and second
fingers. The right hand is fixed exactly contrary to the left as
far as the back and fingers are concerned, for the back is turned
away from the bowler and the fingers are turned towards him. The
thumb lies across and rests on the top of the first finger, touching
the finger about a quarter of an inch from the top on the inside.
When any sort of hit or block is made the bat at that instant is
held tightly, and both thumbs are slightly shifted so as to lie on
and clutch, not the fingers that hold the handle, but the handle
itself. Whether the hands are high up on the handle or low

46 CRICKET.

down near the blade depends very much on the style of the
player. There is no rule on the subject, but we think the old
motto, * In medio tutissimus ibis,' is good to observe, and the
middle of the handle is, on the whole, the safest. Some players,
however — notably Mr. Frank Penn, in his day a tremendous off-
hitter and altogether a grand bat — hold the bat with the knuckle
of the first finger of the right hand almost touching the top of
the blade j and big hitters, rather of the slogging order, as a rule
hold the bat higher up, with the left hand almost on the top ;
in fact, they adopt what may be called the * long-handled style.'
In holding the bat, however, follow the precept given before—
namely, ascertain the most natural method, and cling to it for
your cricketing life.

The actual position at the wicket is the same for both slow
bowling and fast, with perhaps this trifling difference, that the
batsman ought not to stand so firmly on the right foot to slow
as he would to fast. The reason of this will be explained
hereafter, when we consider the right method of playing slow
oowling. At present we will confine our attention to playing
fast bowling, and let us assume that the batsman has taken his
natural position with his right toe clear of the wicket and that a
fast right-handed bowler is bowling with hand raised above the
shoulder and over the wicket. This is the method of bowling
most in vogue in these days ; in fact, the strict round-arm bowling
round the wicket, with a curl from leg, is for some inscrutable
reason now comparatively rare. Why this is so nobody can tell,
and we believe that some of the present gigantic scoring is partly
owing to the absence of this sort of bowling.

However, the popular method will be the first we shall try
and instruct the batsman to meet successfully, and we will
suppose that the wicket is fast and true. We will begin with
laying down one or two rules that must rigorously be observed
by every player if he wishes to become a first-rate cricketer,
(i) Never move the right foot when playing fast bowling except
to cut, or when you want to pull a very short ball. Nobody
will ever become a first-rate player if he does not strictly ob-
serve this rule. The spot of ground on which the right foot

BA TTJNG. 47

rests is the vantage-point from which every batsman has to
judge of the direction of the ball, and if he shifts away from
this, all sorts of faults will crop up, chief of which will be an
inability to play with a straight or perpendicular bat. He will
also, if he moves his right foot towards short-leg — which is the
commonest form this vice takes — find that he will drive balls
with a crooked bat to the off, when from a proper position he
would have hit them on the on side. He will also find him-
self further removed from the offside, and quite unable, there-
fore, to play with a straight bat on the off stump. These are
a few of the faults that come from not keeping the right foot
still. All coaches know that this habit of moving the right leg
is the fault most commonly found in young players, and it is
most difficult to remove. This arises from the fact that the
ball is a hard substance ; the beginner naturally dislikes being
hit anywhere on the body, and his first and most powerful in-
stinct is therefore to run away. But many instincts are base
in their nature, and the young cricketer must realise in this,
as in other cases, that the old Adam must be put away
and the new man put on. He will find, as he improves, that
in these days of true wickets he will not often get hit; the
bat will, as a rule, protect him, and if he is hit anywhere on
or below the knee the pads will perform a similar function.
If he does get hit, well, he must grin and bear it, and try to
emulate the heroism of some giants of old in ante-pad-and
glove days, of one of whom, the famous Tom Walker, we read
that he used to rub his bleeding fingers in the dust, after
the Mold of those days had performed a tattoo on his
fingers. (2) Never pull a straight fast ball to leg unless it is very
short and you are well in. If you miss it, you are either
bowled out or else you run a great chance of being given out
leg before wicket. The dead true wickets of these days
have no doubt made many more batsmen proficient at this
stroke, but still it is sound to remember that you must have
got thoroughly used to the pace of the ground before you try
this stroke. Ranjitsinhji's skill at this stroke is marvellous, but
few have such supple wrists. (3) Never slog wildly at a ball well

48 CRICKET.

outside the off stump, but of a good length. This hit also may
occasionally come off, but there is no trap more frequently laid
by modern bowlers. Attewell, for example, bowls it so frequently
that 'the Attewell trap' is becoming a stock phrase, and a
little consideration will show how dangerous a stroke it is. A
good length ball is one that it is impossible to smother at the
pitch, and if it is outside the off stump it has to be played
with a more or less horizontal bat, if the slog is attempted.
What must be the consequence ? The ball is not smothered,
consequently any break, hang, or rise that the bowler or the
ground may impart to the ball must almost inevitably produce
a bad stroke, frequently terminating in a catch somewhere on
the off side. The proper way to play such a ball will be dis-
cussed later on, but under no circumstances must the ball be
hit at wildly at the pitch. (4) Keep the left shoulder and
elbow well forward when playing the ball. It is more important
in back play than forward, because in forward play the ball is,
or ought to be, smothered at the pitch, and the value of the left
shoulder being forward is that you are much more master of the
ball if it should happen to bump or hang ; besides which, the
bat cannot easily be held straight unless this rule is observed,
neither can the full face of the bat be presented to the ball.
In the case of the shooter, or ball which keeps low after the
pitch, the movement of the left shoulder towards the left or leg
side will inevitably make it more difficult to ground or lower
the bottom of the bat.

The art of defence — which is the style of play adapted to
stop the ball, as distinguished from the offensive method, where
the object is to hit the ball so as to obtain runs — may be roughly
divided into forward play and back play. The object of all
forward play is to smother the ball at its pitch ; that is to say,
the contact of the bat with the ball must be almost simultaneous
with the contact of the ball with the ground. The player must
reach out with a straight bat as near to the pitch of the ball
as is possible. It stands to reason that a tall man will reach
out much further than a short man, and a bowler, if he is wise,
will bowl shorter-pitched balls to a tall man than he will to a

BA TTING. 49

short. Let anybody take a bat and reach forward as far as he
can, keeping the bat, when it touches the ground at the end
of the stroke, slanting so that the top of the handle is nearer
to the bowler than the bottom of the blade. There comes a
distance when this slant cannot be maintained, and the bat has
either to be held in a perpendicular position or with the handle
sloping behind the blade and pointing towards the wicket-
keeper. Here, then, we come to an invariable rule, viz. never
play forward to a ball so that you are unable to keep the bat at
the proper slant, with the handle of the bat further forward than
the blade. Also, let every player remember that the left foot
must be placed as far forward as the bottom of the bat, and all
play, whether forward or back, is really between the two feet, or,
more strictly speaking, in forward play the bat must not be put
further forward than the left foot, and in back play not further
back than the level of the right foot.

Some old players may very likely not agree with this precept,
and players of the date of Fuller Pilch constantly had their bat
a great deal further out than the left foot, which used not to be
thrown out so far. Mr. C. F. Buller, again, in his day a magnifi-
cent bat, used to play forward in the same style. But let anyone
take a bat and throw out his left foot to the fullest extent ; he
will find that the bat ought not to go any further if the proper
slant be maintained, and he will find also that he has greater
command over the ball in this position than in Fuller Pilch's.
Look at the position in fig. 3, and you will see that the bat
has come down strictly on a level with the left foot. That
a greater command is obtained by this method cannot be
proved in writing, but anyone who tries the old and the new
style will find that the new is preferable as far as command
of the ball is concerned. We are not implying that the great
players of the old style were bad players because they played
in the contrary way, for great players rise above rules and play
by the force of their greatness ; but we are chiefly concerned
with the ordinary mortal, and our advice is, throw the left leg
right out and play to the level of the left foot. Some good
players maintain that, as the shooter comes so seldom nowa-

5o

CRICKET.

days, it is wasting power to ground the bat when playing for-
ward, it being sufficient if it is placed according to circumstances,
varying with the state of the ground. This is no doubt true when
the wickets are hard, but if the miraculous should happen and
a shooter come, the batsman is out, and on soft wickets they
still come. Fig. 3 illustrates grounding the bat in forward play,
and fig. 14, at the end of this chapter, illustrates playing forward
without grounding.

Fig. 3. — Forward play.

The ball which is too short for the player to play forward
to with his bat at the proper slant must be played back and
not forward. To be a good judge of a ball's length is a source
of strength in any player, and a strictly accurate player seldom
makes the mistake of playing forward when he ought to play
back, and vice versd. In cricket, however, poor human nature is
apt to err oftener perhaps than in most walks of life, and the
question may now be asked, What is the batsmen to do when
he finds himself playing forward, but unable to smother the
ball at the pitch ? He has made a mistake ; how is he to get out

BATTING. 51

of the difficulty ? Let it be remembered that we are at present
only concerned with a fast and true wicket, the play on a slow
tricky wicket being so different that it will be noticed sepa-
rately.

Let us assume, then, that the batsman is forward in the
position here shown, but that he finds he cannot reach far
enough to smother the ball at the pitch. On a fast wicket
there is no time to rectify the error by getting back and play-
ing the ball in the orthodox manner ; and yet the batsman must
do something or he will be bowled out. There are three
courses open to him. (1) He must trust to Providence and a
good eye, and take a slog, or adopt what a humorous cricketer
once called 'the closed-eye blow,' in which case, if hit at
all, the ball will probably be hit into the air, but perhaps out
of harm's way, or, as is quite as likely, into a fielder's hands.
The famous E. M. Grace, who is blessed with as good an eye as
any cricketer, frequently plays this stroke with success. (2) He
may adopt what lawyers would call the cy-pres doctrine ;
in other words, though he ought to play forward and smother
a ball, he may at the same time play forward and not smother
the ball, which may hit the bat nevertheless. The dangers of
this play are obvious to every cricketer, for it leaves him at
the mercy of the ball that bumps, hangs, or turns. Modern
grounds are so good that this stroke is far safer than it used
to be ; for in the majority of instances the ball comes straight
on, and only the experienced observer sees that the batsman
comes off with flying colours owing to the excellence of the
ground rather than to his skill. (3) He may, after he has got
forward and perceived his error, effect a compromise and per-
form what is sometimes called a ' half-cock stroke.' This stroke
does not require a violent shuffling about of the legs and feet,
which are placed as they would be while playing forward,
but, instead of the arms and hands reaching forward, they are
brought back so as to hold the bat quite straight over, or a
little in front of, the popping crease. This position and style
of play may be observed in fig. 4, and it is worth a careful
for, in our opinion, it is the proper way for

e 2

CRICKET.

a man to extricate himself out of the difficulty he has been led
into by misjudging the length of the ball. Nobody can play
a ball in this way more skilfully than W. G. Grace, and the
figure shows him in the act of thus playing to a ball which is
on the blind spot — that is, either adapted for forward or back
play, and therefore eminently qualified for over the crease
play, a compromise between the two. The merit of this style
of play is that it gives the batsman time to watch the ball, and
if it should bump or turn he may alter his tactics to meet it,

whereas by the second
method his play is fixed
and cannot be altered,
and the awkward hanging,
bumping, or twisting ball
beats him. Practise by
all means this half-cock
stroke ; on fast grounds
it may be found more
useful than even the
orthodox back play ; for
in back play, unless the
ball is very short, the
pace of the ground may
beat a man, especially
when he first goes in and
has not got accustomed
to the pace. The golden rules to guide the beginner in playing
forward may be very briefly stated, (i) Play forward when
the ball is fairly well pitched up, but remember that the faster
the bowling and the faster the wicket the more frequently will
forward p'ay be the safer style of play. (2) Keep the bat quite
straight and the left shoulder and elbow well forward. (3) Get
as near to the pitch of the ball as possible. (4) Do not put
the bat further forward than the level of the left foot, which
ought to be thrown right forward.

It is often a doubtful question whether a straight drive for-
ward is what is technically a drive or hit, or mere forward play.

Fig. 4. — ' Half-cock ' or over the crease play.

BATTING. 53

Of course, when the batsman is well set he may hit as hard as he
can to a straight half-volley ; but there are many players whose
forward play is so powerful that it practically amounts to a drive.
Stoddart's forward play frequently makes mid-off tremble, and
the same used to be said of Ford and several other players.

But to the beginner again : until you are well set, do not let
all your strength go out to any straight ball ; if you do, you will
lose more than you gain. On Lord's, for instance, a hit over
the ropes can only realise four, the same as a hit under the
ropes ; you will very likely, therefore, score as many for a
straight hard bit of forward play as you will for a regular swipe.

When the art of back play to fast bowling is discussed, the
converse of what has been said about forward play is true,
viz. that as the faster the ground the more balls ought to be
played forward, so under the same circumstances will fewer
balls be played back. As a general rule, it may be observed
that strong-wristed players play more back than batsmen who
play chiefly with their arms and shoulders. A weak-wristed
player playing back on a very fast wicket will frequently be late,
and either miss the ball altogether or else half-stop it, in
which latter case it may dribble into the wicket. The value
of a strong wrist is that the batsman can dab down on a ball
and do the feat in a far shorter space of time than a shoulder-
and-arm player. The difference between a strong wrist and a
weak wrist in playing back is a little similar to what is observed
in an altogether different line. Look at a great underbred cart-
horse with a leg like a weaver's beam, and then look at the
real thoroughbred with its slim proportions ; at first sight it
appears that a kick from the cart-horse will inflict much greater
damage than a kick from the thoroughbred. People who are
learned in horses, however, inform us that the contrary is the
case, and the greater weight of the leg of the cart-horse is
more than counterbalanced by the far more rapid and sudden
movement of the thoroughbred. The bat wielded by a player
with a strong wrist goes through the air like lightning, and
comes down on the ball far quicker and harder than a ponder-
ous stroke from the arms, and shoulders of the batsman with

54 CRICKET.

no wrist action. Perhaps the champion back-player of the
•century was Robert Carpenter, of Cambridgshire and United
All England renown, whose back play on Lord's to the terrific
fast bowling of Jackson and Tarrant will never be forgotten by
those who beheld it.

A back style of play does not smother the ball at the pitch,
but plays at the ball when its course after contact with the
ground is finally determined, and a careful watching of the ball
ds therefore of the highest importance. It is bad ever to assume
that, because a ball has pitched on a line with the off stump,
therefore you are safe if you protect the off stump only, on
the assumption that the ball is going on straight. The ball may
break back, and in order to ascertain that it has done so, and
to shift your bat to guard the middle and leg stumps, you
must carefully watch the ball. Apart from breaking or curl-
ing, the ball may shoot or bump j in either case the batsman
has only his eye to guide him, and the wrist has to obey the
eye. Fig. 5 represents ' back play ' to a bumping ball. Some-
times a ball may be so short that if the batsman has got his
eye well in, and is thoroughly accustomed to the pace of the
ground, he may by a turn of the wrist, keeping the left shoulder
and elbow well forward, steer the ball through the slips. The
beginner, however, must be careful to attempt nothing but
the orthodox forms of play ; he is not W. G. Grace or Shrews-
bury and such-like, who, intheir turn, do not attempt exceptional
feats until they are well set. The ball ought to be met with the
full face of the bat, and under no circumstances ought the ball
to be allowed to hit the bat, which must be the propeller, not
the propelled. Mind to respect and carefully follow out the
two great commandments — never to move the right foot, and
to keep the left shoulder forward and left elbow up. The
number of hours that a youngster has to be bowled at before
that fatal right foot can be relied upon to keep still is prodi-
gious ; but the bat cannot be straight if the body is gravitating
towards the direction of short leg while the ball is in the air.
To a very short ball different methods of play may be adopted.
The one alluded to above, the steering of the ball through the

BATTING.

55

slips, is not often attempted, and a safer method would be to
try and come heavily down on the ball and force it past the
fields for two or three runs. This is a safe stroke, much safer
to adopt than the other. The bat must be straight, and it is

Fig. 5. — ' Back play ' to a bumping ball.

wise not to let your whole strength go out, for one or two con-
tingencies may arise for which the player ought to be prepared.
In the first place, the ball may shoot, and the crisis must be
met accordingly. Now, if the whole of the strength and all the

56 CRICKET.

faculties of a batsman are bent towards the carrying out of
one particular stroke, there will be no reserve left to provide
for any other contingency, for the muscles will be wholly set
for one stroke, and one stroke only, and the player will infallibly
be late if the ball should keep a little low. Of course, on a
great many grounds in these days the chances of such con-
tingencies are reduced almost to a minimum on account of
the excellence of modern wickets ; but still we have to inform
the reader what may happen, not only what happens commonly.
Some few players rise superior to grounds, and though of course
they can get many more runs on easy wickets, still they show
good cricket when the wicket is in favour of the bowler.

The prevalence of easy wickets is not, in our opinion, an un-
mixed blessing. You may go and watch a match when the ground
is as hard as iron and as true as truth, and see a magnificent
innings played by some batsman. The same player on a bowler's
wicket is not less uncomfortable than the proverbial fish out
of water. A man may be a lion on a lawn, but a mere pigmy
when the ground is not a lawn. There are a great many of
these lions on lawns in these days, and to hear them all with
one consent begin to make excuse when they have been bowled
out on a crumbling wicket is very amusing. The ball hung,
or it kept low, or ■ broke back a foot, I assure you, dear boy.
W. G. in his best days wouldn't have been near it. 5 In his
best days, and almost in his worst, Mr. Grace would have often
played it, and so would Steel, Shrewsbury, and one or two others
— planets among the stars, to watch whom getting thirty runs
out of a total of eighty on a difficult wicket is far more enjoy-
able to a skilled spectator than to see the hundreds got on ABC
wickets. The chances that on a hard smooth wicket the very
short ball will do anything abnormal is, nowadays, reduced to
a minimum. But still it may happen, and it is therefore wise
to have in reserve a little strength and a little elasticity. You
can play very hard, nevertheless, and for this hard forcing stroke
off a short straight ball W. Yardley, the late B. Pauncefote,
H. C. Maul, and F. G. J. Ford have never been surpassed.

The ball most to be dreaded for the forcing stroke is the

BATTING. 57

hanging ball, which stops and does not come on evenly and
fast to the bat. The batsman will fail to time the ball, with
the almost certain consequence that the bat will go on and the
ball will be hit from underneath, and up it will go. The advice
that has been given to keep a slight reserve of strength to pro-
vide against such contingeacies as the hanging ball has the
same force now. If you have not altogether let the whole
force go out, you will have a better chance of doing the correct
thing to a ball of this description — namely, to drop the bat and
allow the ball to hit it, the exact opposite of your original in-
tention. This is an exception to the general rule that the bat
should hit the ball, and not the ball the bat.

In all cases a quick and correct eye will enable its owner
to come out of the difficulty with flying colours, and any rules
that may be laid down will be utterly useless to him who puts
his bat just where the ball is not, but where his inaccurate eye
thinks it is. If a youth with the best intentions, but with a
false and crooked eye, after reading and thoroughly compre-
hending every rule directing how every ball ought to be played,
stands up and tries to play cricket, what will be the result ?
He may even have courageously learnt to pin his right foot
firmly to the ground ; but, notwithstanding this, the result of his
efforts will be that, though all proper and necessary postures
may be assumed, he will be bowled out, for the bat, except
by a lucky chance, will always be in the wrong place, though
held quite straight. If cricket could be played with no ball,
the careful eyeless cricketer would shine ; but the introduction
of that disturbing element dashes all his hopes to the ground.

There is a ball that in these days more frequently than any
other succeeds in bowling people out, and that is the familiar
'tice' or 'yorker.' This is nothing else than a ball right up, that
pitches in fact near the block-hole, but is not a full pitch.
This ball ought to be met by the bat just when it touches the
ground, and the bat ought to come down very heavily on the
ball. It is a little difficult to understand why this ball is so
frequently fatal, as it comes straight up and only requires a
straight bat and correct timing. Probably most batsmen hope

, 58 CRICKET.

that the eagerly-looked-for half-volley has at length come ; this
induces them to lay themselves out for a smite, and when they
see their mistake it is too late to alter the tactics. Others, on
the contrary, think that a full-pitch is coming, and advance
their bat to meet it ; the result is, the ball gets underneath it.
In fact, the length of the ball is not correctly judged, and the
batsman is caught in two minds. A bowler who is in the habit
of sending down 'yorkers' is fond of doing so the first ball after
a new batsman comes in, and if a batsman is known to be of a
nervous temperament there is no better ball to give in the
first over. It may be here said, however, that it is next door to
impossible to bowl a ' yorker ' to some batsmen. W. G. Grace,
for instance, seems always to be able to make a full-pitch of this
ball, and a fourer often results. It is obvious that if a ball pitches
near or on a level with the block-hole when the batsman is
standing still, it ought to be easy to make it a full-pitch by step-
ping out to meet it. Mr. Grace does this even to fast bowling.

Having endeavoured to the best of our ability to enun-
ciate a few principles as to defensive tactics, we will now try
and discuss offensive tactics, or hitting. A curious feature
of the present day is that new hits have come into existence.
These have not sprung up because they were not occasionally
brought off in earlier days, but formerly when they were the
batsman used to apologise to the bowler for having wounded
his feelings, and a sort of groan used to be heard all round, as
if there had been some gross violation of a cricket command-
ment. The grounds have improved to such an extent that
bowlers have had to resort to new tactics to effect the grand
object of all bowlers — namely, to get wickets.

A fast bowler has one system of tactics, a medium and
slow bowler another. On hard level wickets a fast bowler in
these days is very apt to bowl short on the off stump and try
and make the ball bump, and to cram a lot of fields in the
slips, while the wicket-keeper stands back. The sort of ball
that bowls a man out is frequently a ' yorker.' This is not the
perfection of bowling, it is a bad style that the modern perfect
wicket has caused to come in. A bowler who keeps a splendid

BATTING.

59

length with really scientific methods, like Hearne, has his
reward in uncertain weather and on catchy wickets, but the
baked smooth wickets of modern-day cricket produce such
bowlers as Jessop and Jones the Australian, who mainly bowl
for catches in the slips — and who can blame them ? Slow
bowlers have to sacrifice accuracy and length to get twist or
break like Trott, the Australian captain, and Hartley the
Oxonian, and Wainwright ; this is also because the perfect
wickets will not allow the combination of length and break.
So the bowlers have to
cultivate an abnormal
break, which cannot be
done without the sacri-
fice of length.

Of all hits, the most
fascinating to the intelli-
gent spectator is the cut.
This requires a very
strong use of the wrist,
and, like all wrist strokes,
charms the spectator
by accomplishing great
results at the expense of
apparently little effort.
Cricket reporters of the
present day are very apt
to call any hit that goes
in any direction between cover-point and long-slip a cut, and
thereby make the term include both snicks and off drives.
This is a mistake, as nearly every cricketer can sometimes
make an off drive, and all can snick the ball, even the worst ;
indeed, with some it is the only stroke they seem to possess,
but there are many who have hardly ever made a genuine cut
in their lives. The real genuine cut goes to the left side of
point — assuming that point stands on a line with the wicket —
it is made with the right leg thrown over, and its severity
depends largely on the perfectly correct timing of the ball.

Fig. 6. — Gunn cutting.

6o

CRICKET.

The ball is hit when it has reached a point almost on a line
with the wicket, and the length of the ball is rather short ; if far
up, it is a ball to drive and not to cut. The bat should hit the
ball slightly on the top, and the most correct cutting makes
the ball bound before it gets more than six yards from the
player. Figs. 6 and 7 show Gunn and Shrewsbury in the
position proper for cutting. It is a mistake to suppose
that the right leg should be thrown over a long way ; it is
sufficient if the foot be put in front of the off stump. When

the player is well in and
has thoroughly got the
pace of the ground, he
very often makes what
may be called a clean
cut ; that is to say, he
hits with a bat quite hori-
zontal to the ball, and not
over it. This produces a
harder hit, as the force
is wholly directed towards
sending the ball in the
proper direction, and not
hard on the ground. It
is not so safe, because, if
the ball should bump, the
bat, not being over the
ball, may hit its lower side and send it up. Therefore be
careful to hit over, and sacrifice some of the severity, if you
wish to play a safe game.

Some careful players would hit over the ball even after they
have scored one hundred runs, and we have never seen Shrews-
bury, for instance, cut in any other way. In the figure the
ball must be presumed to lie rather low, for it is certain that
he is following his invariable custom of getting over the ball.
In any case we should never recommend the clean cut to any
but the best players, and that only on a perfect wicket and
when they are well set. If you are in the position to cut and

Fig. 7. — Shrewsbury cutting.

BA TTING. 61

the ball should bump, it is wise to leave it alone, for the
danger of being caught at third man is very great. We have
seen lusty hitters get right under a bumping off ball and send
it high over third man's head, but it is a perilous stroke, and is
not correct cricket. If the ball, on the other hand, keeps a
bit low after the pitch, it is a most effective stroke to come
heavily down on it ; if the force is put on the ball at the right
moment it will go very hard, and may be called a 'chop.'
Messrs. K. J. Key and O'Brien, who are strong players from
every point of view, excel at this stroke, and they hit the
ground at the same time as the ball with a great power of
wrist. It is useless for anybody to hope to cut well unless he
has both a strong wrist and the power of timing.

The question now arises, What is the player with a weak
wrist to do with a ball that a strong-wristed man cuts ? Some
would say that if he cannot cut in the orthodox vigorous way
he ought at any rate to go as near to it as he can, and if he
cannot make a clean cut for four, at least he should content
himself with two. We think, however, there is for such players
a more excellent way. In the cut we have been describing
the right foot is shifted across : suppose the player now moves
his left foot, not across, but simply straight forward to a ball
that is in every way suitable to cut ; let him then wait till the
ball has gone just past his body, and then hit it with the full
force of his arms and shoulders and with as much wrist as he
has got. The ball will naturally go in the same direction as
the orthodox cut, and quite as hard. The player must stand
upright, and must especially be careful not to hit the ball before
it has passed his body. If he does this off a fast long hop, he
will bring off a vulgar sort of stroke, which cannot go so hard as
the ball hit later, because there is greater resistance to the bat ;
in the correct way the bat hits the ball partly behind it and, as
it were, helps it on in its natural course, whereas at the incor-
rect moment the ball has to be thumped in order to send it in
an exactly opposite direction from that in which it is going
before meeting the bat.

In our judgment coaches ought to teach all beginners this

62

CRICKET.

stroke whenever they find weakness of wrist. The body is
put in such a way as to compensate for a weak wrist, and if
anyone takes up this position with a bat in his hand he will
find that the stroke partakes of the qualities of a drive more
than of a cut. Young players are generally rather impatient,
and very apt to hit the ball before it reaches the level of the
body, and this fault must be removed.

Let us now discuss the leg hit — most glorious of hits — where
every muscle of the body may safely be exerted ; for if you

miss it the ball is not
straight, so you cannot
be bowled, and the
harder the hit the less
chance is there of being
caught, at any rate in
first-class matches in
these days of boundaries.
Bowling having become
more accurate, there is
not half so much leg
hitting now as there used
to be, and in the present
day you hardly ever hear
of a batsman known for
his hitting as George
Parr was formerly, as
also Mr. R. A. H.
Mitchell, and several
others.

There are plenty of men who can hit to leg, but in these
days they do not often get a chance, and it is a rare event
nowadays to see any fieldsman standing at the old-fashioned
position of long-leg. There is generally a field stationed
against the ropes to save four byes when a fast bowler is on,
who can also stop leg snicks from going to the ropes ; but, to
carry the illustration farther, as in leg hitting there is no George
Parr, so in fielding at long leg there there is no Jack Smith of

Fig. 8. — Old-fashioned sweep to leg. (Gunn.)

BATTING. 63

Cambridge. It is rapidly dying out. In a match which we
ourselves saw at Sheffield in 1887, between Notts and Yorkshire,
for a whole day and a half there was not one genuine leg smack
except off lobs, and at no time was a field placed there. This
is hard for the batsman, but it is even harder for the spectators,
who love to see a grand square-leg hit. George Parr's leg hit,
for which he was unrivalled, was the sweep to long-leg off a
shortish ball that many modern players would lie back to and
play off their legs. George Parr would extend his left leg
straight forward, and sweeping round with a horizontal bat,
send the ball very hard, and frequently along the ground.
This hit has really totally disappeared in these days. When
George Parr played he used to punish terrifically bowlers like
Martingell, of Surrey and Kent, who relied on a curl from leg
and bowled round the wicket — a most effective style, naturally
producing, however, many leg balls. It is all the other way
now, and it may be taken for certain that for every leg ball
you see now in first-class matches you saw ten or twenty in
former days. However, young players in schools are certain
to get plenty of convenient balls to hit, so they must remember
to throw out the left leg and hit as near to the pitch as possible
and as hard as they can. The ball may start in the direction
of square-leg, but its natural bias after it has gone a certain
distance will be towards long-leg or behind the wicket, and the
fieldsman must remember this, or he will find the ball fly away
behind him on his right side. Be very careful never to try
this stroke to balls that are on the wicket, or even nearer the
wicket than four inches at least. If it is within that distance it
is a ball to drive, and not to hit to leg. Fig. 8 shows Gunn
carrying out this stroke, and the batsman may put his left leg
in front of the wicket if he is certain the ball did not pitch
straight. This hit ought only to be attempted when the ball
is short of a half-volley. If the ball is a half-volley or at any
rate well up, the proper hit is in front of the wicket or to square-
leg, and with a vertical, not a horizontal bat. In this hit,
how far to throw out the left leg depends on the length of the
ball ; the batsman may even sometimes have to d«aw it back a

6 4

CRICKET.

little and stand upright and face the ball if it is well up. There
is no hit that can be made harder than this to square-leg,
and there have been many records of gigantic square-leg hits.
Some hitters have sent the ball as far by the lofty smack
straight over the bowler's head, but more batsmen can gene-
rally^ farther to square-leg, and only a short time ago Mr.
Key sent a ball right out of the Oval. In years gone by Lord
Cobham and R. A. H. Mitchell were renowned for their square-
leg hitting, as was Carpenter also. There is no very special
rule to be observed for this hit, except that the ball must be
on the legs or just outside them, and not straight, or within

four or five inches of the
leg stump. If the ball
is tolerably wide on the
leg the bat will be more
horizontal as it hits the
ball, which will in con
sequence go sharper, and
vice versa, if the ball is
just crooked enough to
hit; it will, when hit, go
more straight, and be
called by the cricket re-
porters an ' on drive,'
though it is a square-leg
hit. Fig. 9 is supposed to represent W. G. Grace hitting to
square-leg, and the reader must assume that the fieldsman is
running to field the ball going on a line or in front of the
wicket, and not behind it.

Some players there are who never seem to hit at any ball,
but push it all along the ground, and for this purpose they
get farther over the ball, and simply use the weight of the body,
using the arms and shoulders but little.

This is -an eminently safe game, but to these players we
would only observe that they deprive themselves of the
glorious sensation, alluded to at the beginning of this chapter,

Fig. 9.— Square-leg hit. (W. G. Grace.)

BA TTING. 65

which comes when a ball is hit with all the force that nature can
supply and a fine driving bat can supplement. Cricket is a
game ; the primary object of games is to give pleasure to the
players, and it is quite impossible that the same amount of keen
gratification can await the stick who never hits as is realised by
the man who, though he may only be at the wickets half the
time, yet in that time makes at least ten great hits that will
realise forty runs. There is, however, a good length ball on the
legs to which this push can be usefully applied if the batsman
is one of the numerous class of cricketers who cannot make
use of the sweep to leg. This stroke is made by slightly moving
out of the ground, or rather, the whole weight of the body being
inclined forward the right foot is dragged forward also. This
may seem to violate a cardinal rule laid down before — that the
right foot should never be moved. It must be remembered
that the reasons why the right foot should not be moved
mainly apply when the foot is moved in front of the wicket or
towards short-leg. It is invariably wrong to go out of your
ground when the fast ball is straight or on the off side, for
in both these instances, if you miss the ball, even if it does not
hit the wicket, you are under the risk of being stumped. But
to move out of your ground to a fast ball on your legs practically
lays you open to no danger of being stumped, for if you should
miss the ball you will stop it with your legs. Now imagine
yourself utterly unable to sweep the ball to leg as George Parr
used to do, and receiving a ball that you cannot reach at the
pitch so as to hit with a straight bat — in other words, rather a
short ball — what are you to do ? If the ball is very short you will
probably get back, bring your left foot on a line with, and close
to, the right, and try either to make the ball glide off your bat
to long-leg or play it with a full face for a single in front of short-
leg.

Fig. 10 shows W. G. Grace attempting the glide, and ap-
parently he has hardly moved either leg ; presumably, there-
fore, the ball is not very short, but only just too short to hit.
This is a stroke in which W. G. Grace excels, as indeed he

F

66

CRICKET.

does in most others ; but it is a dangerous one unless the left
elbow is kept well up, for otherwise, if the ball bumps, you
will find your bat sloping backwards and the ball will go up.

We must now think of the proper way to play a ball on the
legs that is not short enough for the batsman to play back to
in this way, though, on the other hand, it cannot be hit to
square-leg with a straight bat. The batsman also, on account
of some natural disability, has always been unable to learn
the secret of the George Parr sweep. This sort of ball must
be played forward, and, if necessary, the batsman may even

leave his ground and
push it in front of short
leg. As has been said
before, if he should
miss the ball his legs
will save him from be-
ing stumped. The ball
must be smothered as
far as possible and
pushed on in front of
short-leg, and the reason
why it is not hit harder
is simply because you
cannot quite get at the
pitch, and if, therefore,

Fig. io.—' The glide.' (W. G. Grace.) you n j t hard at it, you

would probably sky the ball. The bat must be kept at the pro-
per slope: as the body is lunging forward a great deal of impetus
will be given to the hit by the mere weight of the body, and the
ball will frequently find its way to the ropes. This play is most
useful when opposed to left-handed bowlers, for then the ball is
apt to follow the arm and come straight in the direction of the
batsman's left hip. The famous trio of Uppingham cricketers,
Messrs. Patterson, Lucas, and D. Q. Steel, were very strong in
this stroke, and in an innings of over a hundred which Mr. Pat-
terson played at Lord's in 1876 against Oxford a large propor-

BA TTING. 67

tion of his runs were made in this way. In ancient days many
balls on the leg side used to be played by a now practically obso-
lete stroke called the 'draw,' which consisted of an ugly lifting up
of the left leg and letting the ball glide off the bat between the
legs towards long-leg. It was as much part of the repertoire of
a player of the old style as a cut or a drive, but it has utterly gone
out of fashion as a stroke to be learnt, simply because it had no
further effect than the glide off the bat as now practised ; the
modern style has also the additional advantage of being more
elegant, and there is less chance of the ball hitting the foot.
The famous Jemmy Grundy used frequently to play this stroke,
and his mantle appears to have descended on some younger
Nottingham players, for at the present day they sometimes
use it. It used to be brought off occasionally by the famous
Richard Daft, and was in fact the only stroke of this graceful
and most correct player that was not elegant. As we have now
got on the subject of the draw, we may as well describe the
other sort of obsolete draw, which was performed by just touch-
ing the ball with the bat quite straight, but with its left side
turned towards the wicket-keeper, or what soldiers would call
left half- face, held some way behind the body. Tom Hearne
used to be great at this sort of draw, but it is even more
entirely gone out of fashion as a stroke than the other style.
The same effect is produced by what is frequently seen — namely,
a batsman only just snicking a ball off the leg stump, or just
touching it, leaving the spectator uncertain whether the ball
has been played or has hit the wicket. Tom Hearne, who was
the last player who used to practise this stroke methodically,
was in the habit of jumping with both feet towards short-leg,
and leaving the bat in the correct position for the draw ; and
not unfrequently he was caught at the wicket owing to the ball
not being turned sufficiently j sometimes, though not often,
if the bound towards short-leg happened to be a little too much
in front, he used to be stumped. This stroke necessitated
moving the right leg towards short-leg, and it is on this ground
mainly that we contend that it is not sound cricket ; but, as has

F 2

68

CRICKET.

before been stated, it is now quite obsolete, and to imagine it
you must also imagine yourself in the days of tall hats, pads
under the trousers, and braces holding up a curious type of
pantaloon, such as the late Mr. Burgoyne, treasurer of the
M.C.C., used to wear up to the day of his death. The play
shown in fig. 1 1 is made by drawing back the left foot, coming
hard on to the ball, and forcing it in the direction of short-leg.
In our judgment, this is the right play for all short balls on the
legs, for the ball is near to the body and consequently to the

eye ; you have therefore
great facility in placing it,
and you have also the bat
at a proper angle. It is
more correct than the stroke
shown in fig. 10, for there if
the ball should bump it will
run up the shoulder of the
bat, and possibly get caught
by the wicket-keeper, short-
slip, or even point and
short-leg, and we have seen
several instances of the ball
hitting the bat, not in the
front but at the side of
the bat. In the former play
the ball has to hit the bat,
in the latter the bat hits the ball, and, according to the fancy
of the batsman, can either be hit in front of short-leg or be
suffered to glide towards very sharp long-leg. The figure, how-
ever, does not quite convey the impression that the ball is
being hit hard. The bat may have descended from over the
batsman's head, especially if the ball is very short, while the
figure only shows the end of the stroke.

The off drive in the direction of cover-point and to the right
hand of point is a favourite hit with many players. Barnes
of Nottingham plays it to perfection. The ball to hit in this

Fig. ii.

>ke off the legs.

CAUGHT AT THE WICKET

BATTING. 69

way is one well up on the off side, though it need not be a
half-volley. The left foot is thrown across, the ball is hit
with a nearly perpendicular bat, and the stronger the wrist the
cleaner and harder will be the hit. In this and every other hit
correct timing is most important, and whatever the beginner
may try, do not let him attempt to hit wildly at the pitch of the
ball. Let the left foot be put across, and be careful to hit over
the ball in order to keep it down, for if you do not, and the
ball bumps, it will inevitably go up. The ball should be a
foot or so wide of the wicket ; the batsman at the moment of
striking the ball will be facing cover-point, and will have his left
shoulder well forward, as in fig. 12. The bat is well over the
shoulder, and is coming down nearly perpendicularly on the
ball, which is not a half-volley ; if it were, the bat would be
straighter and the ball would be driven straighter. But the ball
is hit after it has gone about a foot from the pitch. If the ball
is a foot or two wide of the wicket and well up it would be hit in a
similar position, for the bat cannot be held straight to hit a ball
at this distance from the wicket ; if it should go straight it
would be a pull and not a clean hit, and the further the ball
from the wicket the further ought the left foot to be moved
across. Whatever you do, refrain from hitting a ball when
there is reasonable expectation of the umpire calling 'Wide.'
You may hit it for two or three runs ; you are more likely
only just to touch it with the end of the bat and get
caught by third man or point ; you are still more likely to cover
it and not score off it, thereby losing a run for your side.

So completely has the modern method of bowling on the
off side for catches established itself, that cautious players like
Donnan and Abel have got into the habit of leaving off
balls altogether alone. Granted that the bowling is accurate
and the fields well placed, county clubs will very soon find
out that, if this course is pursued much further, cricket will
become a very dull game to watch, and a match will probably
seldom lead to a decisive result. It may be done to a good
length ball outside the off stump when you first go in, and have

7 o CRICKET.

neither got a good sight of the ball nor the pace of the ground ;
but that batsmen should habitually watch the wicket-keeper
take the ball while they stand right in front of the wicket, with
their bats behind them, is carrying caution so far that some
people would call it not a virtue but a vice. We actually saw a

Fig. i2.— Off drive.

cautious player receive four consecutive off balls and not
make an attempt to hit one. What pleasure can there be
in batting if these tactics are adopted ? And let such players
please think of the unhappy spectators. The ball can be hit
if you will only get your left foot well across and get well over
the ball, and even if your energies are chiefly directed towards
hitting the ball on the ground, the ball will be hit, and the

BATTING. 71

field may make a mistake; at any rate you have made an
effort, and not given up in despair. It is like a timid man
running away from danger instead of facing it, as he should,
and it is better to try and to fail than not to try at all. Never
mind your average ; you cannot win a match by such tactics,
though you may make a draw of it.

The off drive by cover-point must be always made by put-
ting the left leg across, and not the right ; and the old principle
never to be departed from, namely, to keep the left shoulder
and elbow well forward, must be again emphasised. When
you have once got into position you are master of the situa-
tion : you are right over the ball, and you may leave it alone if
it should bump ; or you may wait till the ball has passed you,
and then make the cut with left leg over in the way described
before. You are not in the most favourable attitude for the cut,
because your left leg is too much over, but it can be brought
off ; and if only a great deal of practice is given to this off drive
there will be no necessity for leaving balls alone.

There are several players to whom is denied the ability and
capacity to make these off strokes, who are defective in wrist
and careful timing of the ball, but who are fully capable of
taking quite proper care of a half-volley or balls well up.
Such players are under a great disadvantage when they get
balls on the off side that are shorter than the half-volley,
for they certainly cannot take the same advantage of them.
But they have a great many courses open to them, and if they
will get the left leg over, and hit over the ball, they will run no
risk of getting out, and a casual ball will be well timed and hit
accordingly. But they have also the waiting stroke open to
them, and this consists of letting the ball get past them, and
simply letting it glide off the bat in the direction of long-
slip. The faster the bowling the more runs will result from this
stroke, as the ball is hit at a longer time after it has pitched than
it is when the batsman meets it by the more effective method ;
there is more time to observe its pace and direction ; and if such
a player is only careful to get over the ball, he will get a lot of
runs in this way.

7 2 CRICKET.

Lastly, there is the hard drive, which partakes largely of for-
ward play, but yet is a hit to which you can open your shoulders.
It is made with a straight bat either on the off side, on side, or
straight over the bowler's head.

To fast bowling the difficulty arises of distinguishing this
stroke from forward play, for so many balls from fast bowlers on
hard wickets are played forward that are not by any means
half-volleys and yet go very hard. In fact, there are occasions
when fast grounds and fast bowling combine to make batting
very easy — when, as a well-known Yorkshire fast bowler said,
4 If you poke at her she goes for four.' There is no real neces-
sity for ever having a regular smack at straight balls from a very
fast bowler ; it is practically as effective to play them forward,
with the weight of the body thrown on the left foot and the
arms and shoulders kept free and loose. No more beautiful
exponent of this graceful forward play has ever lived than
Lionel Palairet of Somerset. But by all means hit as hard as
you possibly can at a half-volley outside the off stump j the
ball will either make mid-off tremble, or else go straight to
the ropes between mid-off and cover-point. You move the
left foot slightly forward a little in front of the wicket, and you
hit at the ball with a straight bat and get well over it to keep
it along the ground. Hold your bat tight, for if it should
turn in your hands there will be a miss-hit and you v/ill be
caught at cover-point or elsewhere. You can hit your hardest
at the half-volley just off the wicket, for the simple reason
that if you do miss the ball you cannot be bowled, and there
is no more chance of missing if you put out your whole
strength to it than if you simply drive it forward with a straight
bat. So keep a little reserve of strength in all straight balls,
but to a crooked half-volley put your whole force into the
blow and hit as though you wished to do the ball an injury.

About the half- volley on the on side very little need be
said. We have observed before that the ball just outside the
leg stump, to within two or three inches of it, is a ball to
drive and not hit to leg. It should be hit towards mid-on or
between the bowler and mid-on ; and to apply what has been

BA TTING. 73

said before, hit it as hard as you can, as if you do miss it you
will not be bowled. Keep the right leg still and lunge for-
ward on to your left foot, which should be a little thrown
forward, and hold the bat tight.

We have now sufficiently discussed the principles that
ought to guide the young player in playing fast bowling on a
good fast wicket, and if he observes what has been said he will
find that he plays a good safe game, assuming that his eye is
straight and that he is able to put his bat in the place where his
eye shows him it ought to go. The play to fast bowling on
slow tricky wickets brings out the batsman's real talent, and he
will discover thai what was easy on a hard wicket is full of dif-
ficulty on a soft. There are no decisive rules to guide the player
on such wickets ; he must trust to his eye and capacity for
watching the ball. The player that can watch the ball care-
fully is the man who will succeed on slow difficult wickets ;
and anybody who has seen Grace, Shrewsbury, and A. G. Steel
bat under these circumstances will understand what this watch-
ing the ball means. If the ground is very fast there is hardly
any time for a careful watching of the ball ; the player must
play largely by instinct, which will tell him where the ball is
going, and as the wickets nowadays are so very true the ball
will nearly always take a natural course, that is, straight from
the pitch. The left-handed bowler round the wicket will come
with the bowler's arm slightly from off to leg, the right-handed
bowler also round the wicket from leg to off, but these are both
the natural courses the ball ought to take. On slow wickets, how-
ever, the ball will come slower ; it will take all sorts of fantastical
turns and twists, it will get up straight, and sometimes hang
or stop a little. It will generally be found that very fast
bowlers do not shine on slow soft wickets, for they have great
difficulty in getting a good foothold. It is the medium and
slow bowlers who revel on such ground, as Briggs and Giffen
can tell you. The batsman will find that he is bound to play
more back and less forward, for it is little good to play for-
ward unless the ball can be smothered, owing to the extra-
ordinary pranks the ball will indulge in after it has pitched. He

74 CRICKET.

will therefore be found playing more on his right leg, and the
runs will inevitably come much slower. It has been ascertained
by experience that hitters are of more value on these difficult
wickets than sticks ; for the latter, though they may stay in for an
hour, will perhaps not get a dozen runs during that period. The
hitter, however, if he brings off four hits, does more execution
in a quarter of an hour than the stick will do in thrice that time.
The value of three or four hitters in an eleven was never more
distinctly shown than in the case of the Australian Elevens of
1882 and 1884, and the Gloucestershire and Cambridge Elevens
of 1897. In the Gloucestershire and Cambridge Elevens of
1897 Jessop's hitting has on several occasions turned a match
in a quarter of an hour, and this player certainly has the great-
est gift we ever saw of hitting balls of any and all lengths.
The Australian 1882 eleven had four big hitters — McDonnell,
Bonnor, Giffen, and Massie. In the great international match
at the Oval in 1882, Massie got the fifty-five runs in Aus-
tralia's second innings that practically won the match, and to
say he hit at every ball is scarcely an exaggeration. There
was also a match against Yorkshire at Holbeck, where McDon-
nell's scores of over thirty in one innings and over forty in the
other certainly won the match for his side. In 1886 Surrey
had to go in to get eighty-seven runs to win. Abel was playing
for an hour and three-quarters, while Garrett and Evans were
bowling, every ball dead on the wicket, and during that time
laboriously compiled thirteen runs. The result of the match
was really very doubtful after the fall of the seventh wicket, but
Jones, a courageous cricketer, seeing what was the right game,
went out and hit Palmer over the ropes for four, and the value
of this hit cannot be exaggerated. As a rule it may be taken
for granted that steady and slow play, useful and good as it is
in its way, will not win matches on slow difficult wickets unless
there is a sprinkling of three or four hitters in the eleven. By
the doctrine of chances you will find that one of the number
will come off, and one innings like Massie's may win the match.
To the player who has any hit in him we therefore advise the

BATTING. 75

playing of a freer game on slow difficult wickets than on easy
ones. In the latter case runs are bound to come if only you
stop there, but they will not in the former. You may leave
your ground even to fast bowling on slow wickets if you think
you can bring off a hit by so doing, and generally hold the bat
nearer the top and give her the long handle. The defensive
player, if he cannot do this, must play generally back with the
weight on the right leg, watch the ball very carefully, take
advantage of any loose ball that may be bowled, and try and
place the ball for singles to short-leg, or in the slips. The
bowlers find it more easy to put on break or curl on soft
wickets, so whereas on hard wickets you may almost assume
that the ball will play no pranks but come on straight, on soft
you may almost assume the contrary. The ball that hangs or
stops a bit after pitching instead of coming on is perhaps the
most fatal ball that is bowled. If the batsman plays forward
to such a ball he will very likely find that he has done playing
before the ball has reached his bat; this means that the bottom
of the bat goes on and gets under the ball, and he is caught
and bowled. So frequently does this ball come that it is well
not to play hard on soft wickets, for if the ball hangs at all it
must go up on being hit. For defensive play, we think the bat
ought not to be held at all tightly, but rather slackly, for you
cannot get a run by hard forward play or hard back play on
such wickets.

The general characteristics of play to slow bowling such as
that of Tyler, Peel, Briggs, and others are so very different
that we must make a few special remarks on them. The great
amount of slow bowling is a development of modern times ;
not that slow round-arm bowling did not formerly exist, but it
certainly did not to anything like the extent it does now. In
the days which we all of us have heard talked about by old
cricketers at Lord's, when Mynn, Redgate, Hillyer, and
Lillywhite flourished, there were some lob bowlers, notably
the famous Wm. Clarke, but there were few genuine slow
round-arm bowlers, and Wm. Lillywhite had a long stop

76 CRICKET.

even when the renowned Tom Box was keeping wicket, as
may be seen in the well-known engraving of the match between
Kent and Sussex played about the year 1840. Coming to
later times, from i860 to 1868, there was, as far as we can
gather, but one real professional slow round -arm bowler,
namely, George Bennett. Between 1870 and 1887 may be
said to be the dark age of amateur fast bowling, and to a less
degree of professional. Since that date, however, the amateur
fast bowling has wonderfully improved, and the famous S. M. J.
Woods led the way, and has been followed by Jessop, Jackson,
Kortright, Cunliffe, and others, while the great Richardson, we
think, is the best fast bowler that has ever bowled, when the
amount of work and the perfect wickets are considered.

From a theoretical point of view, to real slow bowling all
forward play ought to be banished. If the ball is short, play
back to it ; if it is tolerably well up there ought to be time to
go out and meet it, and drive it at the pitch. There are some
quick-footed players who carry this theory into practice, but
generally, if you observe first-class cricket, you will find that
there are plenty of players who never leave their ground, even to
slow bowling, unless they are really well set. This partly comes
from the great caution which is undoubtedly exercised more now
than it was twenty or thirty years ago, and partly from the fact
that the bowling, though some of it very slow, is not tossed up
so high in the air as it was by Bennett and earlier bowlers.
Peate, for instance, in his prime the best length bowler for the
last twenty years, did not toss the ball at all high in the air, nor
did the renowned Alfred Shaw, the most accurate bowler that
ever lived. But we still think that more running in might be
practised, for there is nothing that more completely demoralises
a bowler than a player who comes out and drives when the ball
is at all over-pitched. We have seen slow bowlers who do not
possess much head completely demoralised by a quick-footed
player like Mr. A. G. Steel. They preserve their dignity by
bowling so short, that though maiden overs might abound
wickets certainly would not fall. Let the cricketer, when play-

BATTING.

77

ing to slow bowling, stand a little easier, in order that, when
he has made up his mind to meet the ball, his right foot will not
be rooted to the ground, as it ought to be when playing to fast
bowling on fast wickets. Fig. 13 shows Shrewsbury going out
to drive, but he is evidently only at the beginning of his jump,
and by the time the bat has got over the ball he will be a couple
of yards outside the crease. Remember, if you are to be stumped,
you may as well be hanged for a sheep as for a lamb. You are
equally out if you are an
inch or ten yards out of
your ground, so never
hesitate to go out as far
as you can in order to
make the hit a certainty,
and if you can hit the
ball full-pitch by all means
do so, as you ought never
to miss a full-pitch. You
can also pull a full-pitch
to leg or anywhere on
the on side where fields-
men are scarce, and it is
a sign that for that parti-
cular occasion the bowler
is defeated if the batsman
has not permitted the ball
to touch the ground.

If you find, on going out to hit a ball, that it is too short,
and you cannot get at the pitch of it, you have several
courses open to you. If you are a very big hitter, and the
field is not very far out, it is worth while to try the experi-
ment of hitting as hard as you can ; the ball must go high,
and may go over the, ropes or out of harm's way; indeed,
some great hitters seem to prefer a ball that is not quite a half-
volley. Mr. C. I. Thornton, the biggest hitter the world has ever
beheld, with the exception of G. J. Bonnor and perhaps Lyons,

Fig.

[3. — Running out to drive.
(Shrewsbury.)

78 CRICKET.

has made his longest hits off such balls as these; while
Bonnor, who possesses a prodigious reach, seldom leaves his
ground at all, and constantly sends the ball out of the ground
by hitting short of the actual pitch. If the ball is smothered it
cannot go up in the air, and though it is more correct cricket
to get over the ball and drive it forward, as Shrewsbury and
A. G. Steel do, it is probable that the great hitters would lose
more than they gained by playing the orthodox game. There
is a golden rule to be carefully remembered in playing slows,
and that is, never to run out to a ball that is well outside the
off stump. We do not mean to bar the player from running
out to a ball which is absurdly over-pitched, and which he
is certain to get full-pitch if he goes out ; but he should not
leave his ground to the half- volley unless it is nearly straight.
There is more than one reason for this. In the first place,
if you miss the ball, it is the easiest sort for the wicket-keeper
to take, and any moderately decent wicket-keeper will cer-
tainly have you out. In the second place, an off ball is one
that it is impossible to hit or play with a straight bat, and
if you run out to slows you ought always to hit thus ; and
this rule is sound even when you run out to a ball on your
legs, for that is generally hit to long-on with a straight bat,
and not to leg. It is generally true that you should never
leave your ground to any ball that may be called crooked,
whether it is to leg or to the off, for in either case you run
a serious risk of being stumped ; it is only straight or nearly
straight balls that you ought to meet by going out of your
ground. The modern slow bowler is so very accurate that he
very rarely bowls on the leg side at all, and the old-fashioned
lobber who used to bowl on the leg side with a twist from leg
and have four or five fields on the leg side is gradually disappear-
ing. The ball that in nineteen cases out of twenty you have
to meet by going out of your ground is, therefore, the straight
ball.

As far as lobs are concerned, you can play them by stopping
in your ground ; but the really good player to lobs runs out to

BATTING. 79

a certainty when the ball is overpitched, and the famous Wm.
Clarke used to say that Pilch played him best, as he used to
wait his opportunity and meet him and run him down with a
straight bat. If you come to reason out the theory of batting
to slows, and think how you can best defend your wicket and
best score off such bowling, you will easily satisfy yourself that
by playing back and gently forward you may ensure safety for a
considerable period, but you cannot score even moderately fast.
The ball does not come up to the bat fast off the ground as
in fast bowling, and if you play forward hard you run the
enormous risk of being caught and bowled or caught at mid
off. In other words, while to fast bowling you play forward
to get runs, to slow bowling you play forward to defend your
wicket. If, therefore, you play the extra- cautious game and
stick in your ground, or from some cause or another are
unable ever to ' give her the rush,' you will not be able to
score except by casual singles, unless you wait and fully avail
yourself of a full pitch or an outrageous long hop, relished, and
often obtained, when amateurs are bowling, but very seldom
delivered in first-class matches, and pratically never by pro-
fessional players.

It is difficult to know what to do with the good length
off ball. It is much harder to cut slow bowling than fast :
greater strength of wrist is wanted, and there are many
players who are unable to do more than merely pat the ball
towards third man for a single or two runs. Slow bowlers
have a great fancy for bowling without a field at third man,
and this is to the advantage of the batsman ; but even if
there is a third man, at any rate he cannot cover more than
a certain amount of ground, and you will find that many a
run may be got by the pat. Mind and get over the ball,
and you cannot then come to grief by being caught at third
man or short- slip, and very rarely by the wicket-keeper.
The bumping ball ought to be left alone ; this sort of ball is
the only one in meeting which prudence is the better part
of valour, and no attempt ought to be made to hit at all.

80 CRICKET.

The old Adam within them forces a great many players to
try and hit, but it is almost a certainty that if the ball is hit
it must be from underneath, and up in the air it will con-
sequently go. On a soft slow wicket any run getting to
good slow .bowling is extremely difficult, but even on such
wickets you will lose nothing and gain the casual single by
the pat.

The good length ball on the off side is the modern bats-
man's bugbear, but it is far easier to play when the bowling is
fast than when it is slow. It is easier to cut in the first in-
stance, and there are seldom so many fields on the off side to
the fast bowler. But the slow ball can be and ought to be
driven along the ground if the batsman gets well over it, times
it correctly, and throws the left leg across in the same way
as we explained in describing the proper method of making
this stroke off fast bowling. It is more difficult to time good
slow bowling, when the bowler is continually altering his pace,
than fast, and herein lies the difficulty of hitting these off balls.
Bear in mind, however, that by keeping well over the ball you
practically run no risk of being caught anywhere ; sooner or
later you will get your eye in, and when that desirable con-
summation is accomplished, you will be astonished to find how
safely you will hit many balls that when you are looking on it
seems impossible to hit without incurring considerable danger.
But nothing can be gained by leaving balls alone; you run the
minimum of risk by hitting at them, if only you observe the
two rules which ought to be hung in your bedroom and branded
into your brain, ' Put the left leg over,' and 'Get on the top of
the ball.' Above all things do not play for a draw.

From what has been said on the principles which govern
the proper playing of fast and slow bowling, the reader may be
led to think that slow bowling is far more difficult to play
successfully than fast. Chacun a son goiit is true, no doubt,
but we are inclined to think that, to the majority of players in
the prime of their play, slow bowling is on the whole more diffi-
cult to play, especially on hard wickets. Take the case of

BATTING. 8 1

W. G. Grace. It was almost a waste of time on hard wickets to
put on fast bowlers when Mr. Grace was at his best. The sole
advantage to be derived from so doing arose from the fact that
it was advisable to distract his eye, and for this purpose a fast
bowler was useful. By this we mean that, when slow bowlers
were on at both ends, his eye would become more accustomed
to the pace of the ground, and in a shorter time than it would
have been if a fast bowler had been on at one end. But the
fast bowler was on mainly to enable the slow bowler to get him
out, and if the reader looks at Mr. Grace's enormous scores of
twenty years back he will find that Shaw, Southerton, Peate, and
Lillywhite got him out a dozen times to the fast bowlers' once.
And the runs that came from bowlers like Martin Mclntyre
were astonishing ; anywhere, cuts, pushes through any number
of short-legs, big drives and colossal leg hits — all were alike to
the great batsman.

On soft wickets, though many think otherwise, we believe
that fast or medium-paced bowling is more difficult. This must
be assumed only in the case of those fast bowlers who have
power to keep their precision and pace on slow wickets, like
Morley and Richardson. The variety of wickets, as is shown
in the chapter on Bowling, is very great, and on the real mud
farmyard sort of wicket it is generally safe to presume that fast
bowlers cannot act. When there is a slight drizzling rain,
which keeps the ball and surface of the ground wet, fast bowlers
flounder about like porpoises, and the only bowlers who can
act at all are the slow, though they are very much handicapped.
But on the real bowler's wicket, soft, yet gradually hardening
by the effect of the sun, cateris paribus > the fast or fast medium
bowler will, as a rule, be the most deadiy. The year 1879 was,
on the whole, the wettest year for cricket that the present
generation has seen, and it is instructive to turn to the result
of the season's bowling for the county of Nottingham. This
county possessed in Alfred Shaw and Morley the two best
bowlers in England — one slow; the other fast. Here is the
analysis of each for Nottingham : —

82 CRICKET.

Overs Maidens Runs Wickets Average
Morley . , . 725 349 867 89 9-66

Shaw . . .794 453 6 5* 62 ***3*

It will be seen from this pair of analyses that Morley's
is slightly better all round than Shaw, with the exception 01
the number of maiden overs. But maiden overs are not the
final goal of the bowler's ambition. They are only means to
an end. The true bowler's one idea is to get wickets. The
reader will note that Morley, the fast bowler, got no fewer
than twenty-seven wickets more than Shaw, which more than
makes up for the latter's greater success in bowling maidens.
The year 1879 was doubtless a great year for bowlers, but none
the less we doubt whether, taking a whole season's work for a
county, this record has ever been surpassed by any pair of
bowlers at any time, and it is as good an illustration of the
truth of our theory that in wet years slow bowlers are not likely
to succeed so well as fast or medium-pace.

It has always appeared to us that the reason why real slow
bowling is slightly less deadly than fast or medium on slow
wickets is simply that the batsman is more at the mercy of the
eccentricities of the ground when playing to the latter class of
bowling than when playing to the former. He always has the
power, if he would only exercise it, of leaving his ground to
balls of a certain length from the slow bowler, and smothering
them. And again let the beginner lay this axiom to heart : the
ground can commit no devilry if the ball is 'smothered at the
pitch. On slow wickets, therefore, to slow bowling leave your
ground with even less hesitation than on fast, and argue in this
way, that as life against these bowlers and on this wicket is
certain to be a short one, therefore it had better be a merry one
for the sake of the score.

There are and have been a few great men with the bat who
obey no law, but possess that strange indefinable gift called
genius, which rises superior to any difficulty of ground or
bowling ; these batting luminaries may play their ordinary
game on slow difficult wickets, and their genius enables them

BA TTING. 83

to do what ordinary mortals cannot. On really difficult wickets
Shrewsbury shone, and on the whole he has proved himself the
best player the world has ever seen on caking, difficult, soft
wickets. But let the ordinary player, who has acquired a
certain amount of skill in batting, remember that cricket on
hard and fast wickets and cricket on slow are two quite different
things, and that he must alter his game to suit the circum-
stances. The very fast-footed bookish sort of player is the
one who is most at sea on soft wickets ; and this last bit of
advice we respectfully urge upon him — that one hit for four
and out next ball will probably be of more value to his side
than twenty minutes' careful defence and no run. It is not on
soft wickets that drawn games are played, unless there is rain
after the match has begun ; it is on dry wickets, with bound-
aries close in, that the plethora of runs makes the game dull to
all except the ignorant spectator and the voracious batsman.
Of course, if there is only a short time left before the drawing
of stumps and conclusion of the match, say an hour and a half
or two hours, it may be of importance to play for a draw j then
the twenty-minutes-without-a-run batsman may be the means
of salvation for his side, as Louis Hall has proved to be more
than once for Yorkshire ; but, except under such circumstances,
the hitter who runs a certain risk for the sake of a hit is the
more valuable man.

A few words now on running. A man is out if run out as
decisively as if his middle stump is knocked down j but being
run out is more annoying than being bowled, so everybody
ought to learn how to run. Some fieldsmen are so renowned for
their throwing and rapidity of movement that when such a man
is going for the ball the batsman will not venture on a run
which, under ordinary circumstances, he might safely make.
In any event do not run if you feel any doubt of its safety.
The first invariable rule is that the striker calls the run if the
ball is hit in front of the wicket. This is simple to remember
and there is no exception unless it be when the ball is hit to
third man under certain circumstances. These circumstances

g 2

8 4 CRICKET.

refer to the fieldsman himself. If the third man knows his
business and throws to the bowler, the striker has to run the
risk ; therefore he ought to call. If the third man is a player
of tradition and always throws to the wicket-keeper, the non-
striker is in danger, but if he is backing up he never will
be run out. All hits behind the wicket— except in the case
above mentioned — must be called by the non-striker, and the
striker must not look at the ball after he has hit it, but at the
non-striker. The man who has not to judge the run must
have a simple childlike faith in the judgment of his partner,
and if he gets run out he may remonstrate gently with him
afterwards with good reason. The man who is receiving the ball
can easily get into the habit of watching it after it has passed
him on its way to the long-stop or if he has hit it to long-
slip ; but this is a bad habit, and if indulged in will result
in the two batsmen holding different ideas as to whether a
run can be got or not, on which subject there must be no
difference of opinion. If the batsman to whom rightly belongs
the call shouts 'run,' and his colleague shouts 'no,' unless one
gives way promptly there may be a crisis at hand. Never do
batsmen look so foolish as when they affectionately meet at the
same wicket, and nothing is so maddening to the supporters
of a side as to see a good batsman well set deliberately lose
his wicket by the folly of either his colleague or himself. If
batsmen will only remember that the decision of the run must
rest with one man, and that his call must be obeyed at once,
there will not be many runs out. When, say, the third run is
being made, and the question whether a fourth can be success-
fully attempted arises, that batsman who has to run to the
wicket nearest the ball ought to call. The reason of this is, that
as the ball is a considerable way from the nearest wicket it is
almost certain to be thrown there, and the batsman who calls
ought to be he who runs the risk. We will give the following
rules to be remembered by every cricketer with regard to run-
ning, (i) The striker must call every time when the ball is hit
in front of the wicket. (2) The non-striker must call every run
when the ball is hit behind the wicket, except in the case of hits to

BATTING. 8$

third man as mentioned above. (3) Whoever has to shout, let
him shout loudly ; there is no penalty attaching to a yell,
and it is comforting to a man to know his colleague's in-
tention without any doubt. (4) If a bye is being run, the striker
must run straight down the wicket, as he may be saved from
being run out by the ball hitting his head instead of the wicket,
for which mercy he ought to be duly thankful. (5) On all
other occasions run wide of the wicket so as not to cut it up.

(6) Always run for a catch if sent reasonably high into the air ;
if it is caught no harm is done to you, and to be missed and to
secure a run in one and the same hit is a veritable triumph.

(7) Run the first run as hard as you can, and turn quickly aftei
grounding your bat within the popping crease, for the fieldsman
may bungle even the easiest ball, and it is never safe to assume
that there can be no second run.

We hope that we have now explained the true principles
of batting to guide the youthful player in his path. One other
word of caution. A young cricketer may go to Lord's and
watch a great match ; he may see the giants of the game
perform — MacLaren, Ranjitsinhji, Jackson, and Palairet. He
will wonder and admire, but let him beware of imitation, which
may lead him into innumerable quagmires. In another
walk of life, literature, you will find facetious writers who are
fond of imitating the style of famous authors, and very amusing
the attempts sometimes are; but it is easily seen that the
points they successfully imitate are the roughnesses and eccen-
tricities which are frequently characteristic of great authors,
An imitator of Carlyle, for instance, revels in the brusque
eccentricities of the great man's style, but he never succeeds
in portraying his noble qualities. It is much the same in
cricket : genius defies imitation, and is only by poor struggling
humanity to be admired. In the prime of his play nothing in
cricket was grander than the sight of W. G. Grace scoring two
runs off a ball that any other cricketer would have been only
too happy to stop. No school coach that understood his busi-
ness would tell a youth to play certain balls as they are played

S6 CRICKET.

by Mr. A. G. Steel, who sometimes adopts the most daring
methods, and it is not safe to infer that anybody else in the
world can play in a like manner. It is so with hitting. Bonnor,
Lyons, O'Brien, Ford, and Jessop can hit many balls which
the great majority of other cricketers would only venture to play
gently forward. Some critics who are great at criticism, but
great at nothing else, have been known to shake their heads at
some of the methods of great players ; but we can assure these
gentlemen that real genius admits no more of criticism than
it does of imitation. The four never-to-be-violated rules pre-
viously mentioned need not trouble the genius at all ; no
human law need concern him : he is a law to himself, and
looks down from a lofty eminence on his weaker brethren.
What is the good of telling A. G. Steel not to move out of his
ground to fast bowling, seeing that he does so constantly, and
gets four runs by a fine hit when he l gives her the rush ' ? He
will not heed you ; and why should he ?

Apart altogether from the natural accuracy and quickness
of hand and eye, without a proper allowance of which labour
will be in vain, a great deal depends on the temperament of
each player. Whether failure is owing to health, to inability
to recover elasticity of spirits after a few defeats, or to some
other cause, it is impossible to say. But let the good player
who goes through a whole month, or perhaps even a season,
with very bad luck, and comes out in the end with a bad
average, comfort himself with this reflection, that not only
have good players had these reverses, but even the very best.
Mr. W. G. Grace must be accustomed to hear and see his name
referred to, but even he has had spells of bad luck, and he will,
we are sure, excuse us if we put in full the following figures
of innings which were played when he was in his prime : —

June 15 and 16, 1871. — Gloucestershire v. Surrey.

. c R. Humphrey, b. Street ...... 1

June 19 and 20, 1871. — M.C.C. v. Cambridge University.

c. Ward, b. Bray t 4

c. Thornton, b. Bray 4

BATTING. 87

June 22 and 23, 1871. — M.C.C. v. Oxford University.

c. and b. Butler 15

June 29 and 30, 1871. — Gentlemen of South v. Players of South.

c. Lillywhite, b. Southerton 4

b. Lillywhite u

These figures show how the mighty do sometimes fall, and
this certainly ought to console those in the humbler walks of
the cricket world. Some players have shot up like rockets,
played for a season or so, and then have been heard of no more ;
but the county that plays a series of county matches will act
unwisely if it shunts a player who has shown that he possesses
real batting ability. Of course there are limits to the patience
of every club committee, but all committees would be wise if
they were to err on the side of leniency in this matter.

It is of very little avail writing any sort of homily on ner-
vousness, which is in the constitution, and cannot be got rid ol
by much or any reading. It is common to all, in greater or
less degree, and if any man tells you that he does not know
what nervousness in cricket is, do not believe him. To say
that there is no sensation other than a distinctly pleasant one
in walking to the wickets is absurd. It is true that nervousness
does not appear to affect the play of some batsmen, who on first
going in seem to be playing their ordinary game. But the
sensation is there, and these are the fortunate men whose play
suffers but little in consequence.

Nervous players must try and reason to the effect that they
are sometimes in the habit of making runs, and that therefore
there is no great presumption on their part if they assume that
the chances are they will do so again. They must also remember
that, after all, cricket is but a game, and no moral disgrace
will attach to them if they fail. These are but poor consola-
tions at the best, but the game is so glorious that, as we have
before remarked, it is better to try and to fail than never try
at all.

It has always been assumed that the crack English Eleven
that failed to make the necessary seventy-nine runs against the

88 CRICKET,

Australians in 1882 were nervous because they did not succeed
in making them. We are not sure that they all were, or that
there was more nervousness than usual ; but the wicket was
difficult, the Australians' fielding superb, and their bowling
extraordinarily good. Certainly two or three of the Englishmen
were nervous, and no eleven could be got together anywhere
to play such an important match without this being the
case. But the longer anyone plays the less nervous will he
become, and the fortunate men in cricket are those, like the
famous Tom Emmett of Yorkshire, who can, as he modestly said,
1 bowl a bit sometimes.' The player who plays only because
he is a good bat, and never bowls after he has laid his duck egg,
has no opportunity of retrieving his character by getting four or
five wickets with the ball. The unhappy batsman makes one
bad stroke and his wicket is lost, and he has possibly no further
chance in the match. But though the bowler may bowl a wide
one ball he may take a wicket the next, and we believe that
these all-round players find more enjoyment in cricket than the
man who only bats. To their credit be it said that at no
previous period have the professionals combined the two more
than they do now, and we congratulate Peel, Briggs, Attewell,
Rawlin, Davidson, Hirst, and Wainwright accordingly.

The obvious advice to give to players whose success de-
pends mainly on health is to implore them to look after and
pay great respect to the laws by which health is regulated.
Not to eat and drink too much, great though the temptation
may be to do both, is a rule that ought to be observed by
cricketers ; but there is another, not so obvious, but of great
importance, and that is, avoid sitting up late at night. There
is such a lot of cricket in these days that some amateurs and a
great many professionals play six days in the week. There
is the corresponding amount of travelling to be got through,
and a lot of fatigue to be undergone ; sleep, therefore, must not
be neglected, and long hours devoted to convivial evenings not
only entail loss of health but loss of runs also. It is a curious
and unwholesome feature of the present day that it is judged
expedient to have enormous meals in the middle of the day,

BATTING. 89

with salmon, forced meats, creams, jellies, champagne, and
everything calculated to disturb digestion and pervert the sight.
This meal is not only the cause of much indigestion, but also
of a gross waste of time. Instead of half an hour being taken
up by the legitimate luncheon, a precious hour is stolen from
the middle of the day. It must be said that on the principal
public grounds there is no reason to complain of the lun-
cheons : excess is more the custom on private grounds.

As we have in this chapter implored captains of elevens to
be merciful to good players who may happen to be out of luck,
so now, in justice to the other side of the question, let us beg
the batsman not to be superstitious.

Superstitions abound in most games, but we have no
objection to examples of the weakness which cause inconveni-
ence to nobody except the possessor. We have heard, for
instance, of a really great player who never goes in to bat in
a match with anything new about him, not even a shoe-lace ;
but such superstitions are harmless. There is, however, the
man who has got it into his head, or possibly has dreamt, that
it is quite impossible for him to score if he goes in first or fifth,
or in some particular place ; consequently the unhappy captain,
after he has written out, with great care, an order of going in,
is bothered and worried by men who begin to make excuse.
One is certain that he cannot score if he goes in first, another
thinks he ought not to be put so low down as eighth, and so on.
Our advice to the captain is to care for none of these things ;
let him use his own judgment and not consider the absurd whims
and eccentricities of nervous batsmen. The responsibility of
managing a match is quite enough anxiety and trouble for him
without being bothered by a mutinous eleven, and we entreat
batsmen to obey without murmuring their captain's orders, and
•go in without grumbling.

The rules of cricket are imperfectly understood even by
some reputedly famous umpires ; it may be well, therefore, to
remind batsmen how many ways there are of getting out. They
know what it is to be bowled out, caught out, stumped, run out,
to get out leg before wicket, or to hit wicket ; and a great many

90 CRICKET.

think that nothing else will get them out. This is a mistake,
and it was a comical sight to see, as we saw some years ago,
a first-rate professional diddled out in another way. It is
against the rules, properly understood, to wilfully hit the ball
twice. The rule runs : ■ The batsman is out if the ball be
struck . . . and he wilfully strike it again, except it be done
for the purpose of guarding his wicket.' But if a batsman
plays a ball and a proper interval elapses the ball is dead,
and he may return the ball to the bowler. The old rule
reads : 'if the striker touch or take up the ball while in
play.' In the case alluded to, Barlow was batting in a North
and South match at Lord's. He hit the ball twice, and,
unfortunately for him, started to run. This starting to run
proved the more or less wilful nature of the act. There was a
roar of ' How's that ? ' from the colossal throat of W. G. Grace,
standing at point ; it was a case of ' You'll have to go, Barlow,'
and naturally, in a somewhat moody manner, Barlow went to
the pavilion. It is absurd to say that there was anything unfair
in this ; he violated a distinct rule of cricket. A lot of players
think that the ball must not be hit twice under any circum-
stances, and they would as soon think of touching a red-hot
coal as hitting the ball a second time. If there is no wicket-
keeper and the ball is played dead against the foot, it may
save a few seconds of time if the batsman shove the ball back
to the bowler with his bat and stand still, thus saving point the
trouble of picking the ball up and returning it. The ball while
1 in play ' must never be picked up by the hand, for handling the
ball wilfully loses a wicket as much as having two stumps knocked
down. It is an easy rule to remember, and is very rarely broken,
but still it is a rule that must be observed. Obstructing the field
is another violation of rule for which the extreme penalty is
exacted. Of course a witness may tell an untruth in the witness-
box, but unless it is spoken wilfully it is not perjury. So it is
with obstructing the field. Many hundreds of times has a bats-
man standing in his ground prevented a wicket-keeper from
catching him out ; the mere fact that the player's body, being

BATTING.

9i

in a certain position, forces the wicket-keeper to run round him
instead of straight at the ball will make an uppish ball as un-
reachable as the sun. The fieldsman is obstructed, but not
wilfully, so no penalty is incurred. But if the batsman were to
hit up a ball to point, for instance, and either strike at the ball
with his bat or wilfully baulk the fieldsman in any way, he would
be out, and deservedly so. In this, as in other like matters, the
umpire must be the sole judge, and it ought to be pretty plain and
easy for him to give a right decision. About twenty years ago the
well-known Cambridge University cricketer, Mr. C. A. Absalom,
playing for his University against Surrey, was running a bye, and
whilst running to the opposite wicket the ball hit his bat, possibly
preventing him from being run out. The umpire gave him out j
but the umpire was wrong, for the ball came from behind him,
and as it was never alleged that he looked to see the course the
ball was taking and then interposed his bat, it was obviously
impossible that he could have wilfully obstructed the ball : it
merely chanced that while running in towards the wicket the
ball by accident hit his bat. We do not mean to imply that
the batsman ought to run wide of the wicket to a short run in
order to give the fieldsman every chance of running him out ;
on the contrary, if a short bye is to be run, we advise the bats-
man to run straight down the. wicket, for then, as pointed out
elsewhere, the ball will very likely hit him and prevent him being
run out. But he must not deliberately get in the way of the ball
or in any way contribute to the fact of the ball hitting him. A
case of wilful obstruction ought easily to be detected by any
decent umpire.

It is amusing to ask experienced cricketers in how many
ways it is possible for a man to be got out at cricket, and
it is astonishing to find many who give most absurd answers.
There are nine distinct ways of getting out — (1) bowled j
(2) caught ; (3) stumped ; (4) leg before wicket ; (5) hit
wicket ; (6) run out ; (7) handling the ball ; (8) obstructing
the field ; (9) hitting ball twice. It is well to know these
facts, for the batsman who gets out in an untoward and un-

9 2

CRICKET

usual way feels himself to be a fool, and generally looks like
one. Mr. Alfred Lyttelton, when playing some years ago for
Cambridge University Eleven against M.C.C. at Lord's, got
back to a slow long hop and with his foot just touched the leg
stump, the bail of which did not at once fall off. Oblivious of
this fact, and only conscious that he had caught the ball in the
middle of the bat and sent it far away, off he started for his
runs with radiancy on his face and a mocking smile on his lips.
No less than five runs were run, and not until then did anyone
except the wicket-keeper notice that the leg bail, after hanging
on a frail basis for a few seconds, had fallen off. The appeal was
made and the facts examined, the deadly verdict was given,
and it was a case of a return to the pavilion. The batsman
on such occasions as these may look pleasant ; but that is only
one of the beneficent results of civilisation, for, as a matter of
fact, he feels extremely bitter, and there are innumerable swords
in his heart. In the case mentioned the unhappy batsman felt
hot and out of breath after his exertions in running the five
runs, and there was a sad reversal of the pleasant feelings that
attend a successful hit — the applause of the crowd was all
wasted, the expected increase to the score was not realised,
all had vanished, and a melancholy man walked drearily to
the dressing-room.

Batting may be called the roost enjoyable feature of the
great and glorious game of cricket. A man even in full
training invariably feels the effect of fatigue after bowling sixty
or seventy overs, and fieldsmen go through the same experience
during a long outing. But it may with truth be said that the keen
pleasure which is realised by every cricketer worthy of the name,
while he is actually at the wickets, prevents him from feeling
fatigue as an inconvenience until the innings is over. We do
not believe, though with bated breath let it be said, that the
fine rider on a fine horse in a good position and over a grass
country with a burning scent can feel so supremely content
with the world and its glorious surroundings while galloping
and jumping close to hounds, as does a batsman who feels

BA TTJNG.

93

himself master of the bowling on a good wicket in a first-clas>
match, with a fine day and a large crowd keenly anxious for his
well-doing. He is conscious that his side is gaining a glorious
victory by his efforts, and life can give him no prouder moments.
To the young cricketer let us therefore say, in conclusion, that,
as the pleasure is so intense and the excitement so keen, he
should strive to attain proficiency by care, practice, and the
advice of great masters. Above all, he must cultivate the
moral qualities that of necessity must have a place in such a
great, glorious, and unsurpassable game as cricket.

Fig. 14. — Gunn playing forward.

CHAPTER III.

BOWLING : BY A. G. STEEL.

VERYONE who knows anything
at all about cricket will at once admit
that bowling is, to say the least, as
important a feature of the game as
batting. The same share of fame has
always been conferred on a really good
bowler as on an expert at the other great
branch of the game ; but, though this has been
so from the very earliest days of cricket, there is no doubt that
the number of good bowlers whose names figure in the chron-
icles of the game is much smaller than the number of good
batsmen. This would seem to show that the art of bowling
is more difficult of attainment than its sister accomplishment,
and in face of this supposition, it seems strange that the energy

BOWLING. 95

devoted to practising bowling by all beginners at the game
should be so greatly exceeded by that devoted to batting. The
reason for this may easily be found in the fact that the pleasure
derived from making a long score, and the indescribable
feelings of delight experienced by every keen cricketer when he
has a bat in his hand, seem to offer greater attractions than
the more sober, less flashy, and apparently more mechanical
duties of a bowler. It is a great pity, in the interests of the
game, that at our large public schools and universities more
care is not taken to coach beginners in bowling. Hours upon
hours are devoted to the teaching of batting, but it is very, very
seldom any professional ever thinks of endeavouring to instil
into his pupils any of the most elementary rules of bowling.

A question which cannot fail to present itself to the minds
of all cricketers, and especially those who recollect some of the
heroes of bygone days, is whether the bowling of to-day is as
good as it used to be. This particular question — so often put,
and answered so differently — seems to me to be one which it is
impossible to decide, as the whole nature of the game has altered
so much in the last few years. This alteration is due, firstly,
to the great improvement in the condition of the grounds;
secondly, to the corresponding improvement in batting, for * the
better the grounds the better the batsmen,' is generally a correct
saying. Formerly bowlers were greatly assisted by the uneven-
ness of the grounds ; whereas now, on our billiard-table-like
wickets, even our very best bowlers know well that their chance
of getting rid of a strong batting side for anything under 300
runs is extremely remote. It is impossible to compare the tall-
hatted old heroes of the ball with bowlers of the present day. In
olden days the badness of the grounds caused the best batsman's
wicket to be in frequent jeopardy, and fast erratic bowlers were
well aware that there would be ample compensation for any ac-
curacy which might be wanting in their delivery in the far from
infrequent shooters and abruptly rising balls which so often
either levelled the stumps or compelled the retirement of the
batsman by a catch in the slips. Nowadays a bowler is nothing
unless he has command of the ball and can practise variety ;

96 CRICKET.

batting is so good and grounds are so level that the merely
accurate bowler may keep down runs, but he cannot get wickets,
but this fact is hardly realised yet, and our best bowlers — and
these consist almost exclusively of the professional class — seem
to aim not so much at getting rid of a batsman as at keeping
down the runs by bowling a good even straight length, and
trusting to chance or the impatience of the batsman for his
dismissal. As, however, this subject is one which will best be
treated later on, and about which there is a good deal to be
said, we will leave it for the present, and turn our attention to
a short retrospect of bowling from the earliest days.

Round-arm bowling seems to have come into vogue in 1825.
It has been generally supposed that Mr. Willes was the first to
start it, and the following story is told of the way in which that
gentleman found out the advantages of the round-arm delivery.
Mr. Willes, being a most enthusiastic cricketer, and not content
with the summer months for his favourite sport, used in the winter
daily to repair to his barn, and there measure out the proper
distance, pitch the stumps, and, with his sister (also an enthusiast)
as bowler, enjoy a good practice. Now everyone who has seen
ladies attempting to throw a stone or cricket ball will remember
that they invariably have a half-round, half-under sort of de-
livery, and this Miss Willes, in common with the majority of
ladies, seems to have possessed. Her brother, accustomed to
play against what in those days was the only known style of
bowling, viz. under-arm, was somewhat perplexed and worried
with this unknown feminine species of ball, which doubtless
he found difficult to tackle. How amusing it would have
been to have watched this keen cricketer, probably not un-
conscious of his own merits as a batsman, entirely puzzled
by the deliveries of a lady! We are not told whether his
feelings of shame at being thus defeated, or of delight at
discovering this new style of bowling, predominated, but we
are told that shortly afterwards he made his debut as a round-
arm bowler, and met with (until he was stopped by the
conservatism of the crowd) the greatest success.

From the year 1825 down to the present, round-arm bowl-

BOWLING. 97

ing has been universal, and it is now quite an exceptional
occurrence to come across a fast under-arm bowler of the old
style. This is not much to be regretted, as every attribute
of good bowling which was obtainable by the fast under-
arm delivery is much more easy of attainment by the round
or over-arm style j and many accomplishments pertaining to
the bowler's art are possible to the round-arm which, from the
very nature of the action, are impossible to the fast under-arm
bowler. Break, spin, and quickness from the pitch are common
to both styles, but certainly the two latter are made easier of
acquirement by the round-arm style ; and with regard to break —
an easier matter for the under-arm bowler— the ball that breaks
or twists the most is not as a rule the ball that gets the most
wickets. To a fast under-arm bowler the variations in flight
and pace, so well known to the best round-arm bowlers, are un-
known. Slow under-arm bowling, of course, must be excepted
from these remarks ; later on in this chapter I shall have some-
thing to say on the subject of this most useful style, which un-
fortunately in later years seems almost to have died out.

It was formerly the reproach of amateurs that from the
year 1875 t0 > sav > ^^1 tnev na d no bowlers. When Appleby
and Buchanan retired from first-class cricket in 1875, there
was practically nobody except Grace and Studd to carry on
the lamp of amateur bowling till Woods, Jackson, Kortright,
Streatfeild, Wells, Bull, Jessop, CunlirTe, and Wilson by their
pace and accuracy have shown the public what can be done.
Woods, Kortright, Jackson, and Jessop for pace, Bull and Wells
for slow, and CunlirTe and Wilson for medium are all excellent
in their respective classes, and in the sixties, when the grounds
would have given them more assistance, they would have been
far more deadly than now. Still it is a fact that at most public
schools more teaching ought to be bestowed upon bowling.
A few words of instruction or encouragement to a beginner
might have the effect of awakening in him the interest and
keenness about bowling which would eventually cause his
development into a good, or at any rate a fairish bowler. Who
has not seen over and over again a boy come up to a net where a

H

98 CRICKET.

companion is practising, and picking up a ball, which as likely
as not is about half as large again as a match ball, proceed to
hammer away at the batsman for about ten minutes or more
in all directions, with ail pitches, and, what is worse than every-
thing, with different lengths of run ? Then, perhaps, getting a
little tired, as any bowler will who bowls for long without a rest
(which he would get in a match at the end of each over), he
exclaims, \ Now I'll give you some of Spofforth's patents ! ' and
then, with a long run and a kangaroo-like bound (but, probably,
altogether unlike the famous Australian bowler), he proceeds to
hurl the ball wider and in a more erratic style than ever. Then,
perhaps, he will say, ' Would you like some of W. G.'s ? ' and
immediately assuming the well-known and somewhat inartistic
pose of the English champion, proceed to toss the ball lifeless
up in the air. Now this is not the way to learn how to bowl.
Bowling, like everything else worth doing, takes a lot of careful
practice before it can be expected to meet with success.

There can be no doubt that were boys carefully trained at
school in the art of bowling, as they are in that of batting, our
universities, from which the ranks of our first-class cricketers
are usually replenished, would be continually sending up men
who could take the position as leading bowlers now occupied
by professionals. But, it may be asked, if we have a supply
of fairly good bowlers, what does it matter whether they
are professionals or amateurs ? There are two answers to this
question : first, that the Gentlemen every year play the Players,
and are naturally always anxious to beat them ; and, secondly,
that the more cricket gets into the hands of professional
players, the worse it will be for the game and its reputation.
We would not say one word against the personal character of
the English professional cricketer, for the great majority of this
class are honest, hard-working, and sober men. We only
say that it is not in the interests of cricket that any branch
of the game should be left entirely in their hands. Your
professional, as a rule, is the son of a small tradesman, or
person in that rank of life, and has been born in a neighbour-
hood where the greatest interest is taken in sport of all kinds,

BOWLING. 99

cricket during the summer months being sedulously played.
These neighbourhoods are far more frequent in the northern
than the southern counties, the sporting tendencies of the
people of Lancashire, Yorkshire, and Nottingham being de-
veloped to a much greater extent than in the more southern
shires. These three counties, and especially Notts, turn out
large quantities of young professionals yearly.

A boy who has been born in one of these cricketing districts
is sure to devote a fair share of his time to watching the
victories and defeats of his village club, and consequently to
imbibing that feeling of ' pleasing madness ' connected with
the game which attacks every cricket enthusiast. The height
of his ambition is to bowl a ball or two to the village champion
batsman, and when the opportunity arises to gratify his wish
you will see him, hardly higher than the stumps, bowling with
an action exactly similar to the crack village bowler, and scorn-
ing to encroach so much as an inch over the line of the bowling
stump. And oh ! what sleepless nights ensue from the antici-
pation of actually seeing with his own eyes on the following
Saturday one of the real cracks of England— one who has
positively played in Gentlemen v. Players, or represented Eng-
land against Australia ! No wonder the boy becomes imbued
with keenness for the game, when everyone in the village, from
the parson to the old lady who keeps the sweetshop, is con-
tinually talking ab6ut cricket. As the boy grows older he
begins to make his mark in the village club, and when he is
eighteen or nineteen, to the delight of his father, mother,
sisters, and himself, he is selected to make one of the twenty-
two colts of his county that are chosen to play against the
county team. After having played in public, and perhaps tasted
the pleasures of success, the father finds that his son is rest-
less and disturbed in his trade, and wishes to give it up and
become a professional cricketer. So it happens that his name
is sent up to the county secretary as wanting a situation, and
the young fellow finds himself launched into the world on his
own account as a cricket professional.

With regard to the young man's prospect of success on

H 2

foo CRICKET.

starting in his new life, we are bound to say that, assuming he
has only the average cricket ability of the ordinary professional,
his chances of even making a livelihood are not particularly
bright. He may, and no doubt will, earn as much as 2/. a week,
or even more, during the summer months; but at the end
of August or beginning of September he will find himself
with very little money in his pocket, and seven of the coldest
and worst months of the year to face. He may get employ-
ment in the winter months — many professionals do, either as
colliers or as porters, or some other work. We have known
them to do clerk's work for railways in the winter ; but all work
for men only willing to stick to it for a few months is ex-
tremely uncertain, and there can be no doubt that many
cricket professionals have a bad time in the winter.

On the whole, professionals who have an assured place in
their county eleven have, for men of their social position, a
very good time. They only get nominally 5/. a match, but this
often means a minimum wage of 10/. a week, and besides this
they are well known and consequently well advertised, and this
means a good deal. Many have shops for sale of cricket
goods and golf clubs, footballs and archery, cum 7nultis a/it's.
A great many become publicans, which, though many of us
think a loathsome profession, is at any rate a livelihood, and
they become publicans because they are well known and
popular, and brewers like such men to manage their public-
houses. Even if they keep no shop, they are constantly selling
bats and balls, and a fair proportion of them, the picked men
of the profession, get permanent posts in public schools. When
there is no county match on a great many, especially in the
North, get engagements in the detestable modern one-day
league match. Leaving publicans out of the question, at the
present day, from our own knowledge, the following old and
young professionals keep cricket shops : Daft, Shaw and
Shrewsbury, Gunn, Watson, Briggs, Sugg, Nichols, Abel, the
two Quaifes, Walter Wright, Baldwin, Peate, Ward, Tunnicliffe,
and George Hearne, and there are no doubt many more ;
while the following have permanent engagements as coaches

BOWLING. 101

at schools, often with a shop also: Wright' of' Nottingham,
Louis Hall, Woof, Emmett, F. Ward, Wootton, and Painter.

In addition to all this, in some counties there has arisen,
in the last year or so, a system of winter wages, or a bonus
paid about Christmas, and when all things are considered, we
cannot help thinking that a professional of ability who is
steady has a better time of it than any other working man ;
and even if not a publican or shopkeeper, many have trades
to which they can turn their hands in the winter.

The first-class professional cricketer is usually a well-made,
strong-looking man, ranging from two or three and twenty to
thirty five, with agreeable, quiet manners. He is a great favour-
ite with the crowd, and when his side is in may be seen walking
round the ground surrounded by a body of admirers, any one
of whom is ready and willing at any moment to treat his ideal
hero to a glass of anything he may wish for. It is greatly to the
player's credit that in the face of this temptation to insobriety he
is such a sober, temperate man. I have never seen on a cricket
field a first-class professional player the worse for drink, and I
have only on one occasion heard the slightest whisper against the
sobriety of such a man during the progress of a match. I believe
that, as a class, and considering the thirsty nature of their occupa-
tion and the opportunities that offer themselves for drinking,
there is no more sober body of men than cricket professionals.

Having attempted to give a short, and it is hoped im-
partial, description of the cricket professional, let us, before
resuming the subject of bowling, return to the assertion that
the more cricket gets into the hands of professional players
the worse it will be for the game and its reputation. At
present cricket is perhaps the most popular of all our national
recreations ; it is certainly the most popular game, though
football has lately made great strides in popular opinion, and it
is rightly considered to be the manliest and the freest from all
mischievous influences. What these latter are, and what a per-
nicious and enervating influence they exercise on other branches
of our national sports, is known to everyone'. I allude to the
betting and book-making element, which from the earliest days

702 ' ' ' ' CRICKET.

Ttas been- the- curse ■&* sport. What is the worst feature about
horse-racing ? To what do English lovers of true sport owe the
fact that every racecourse is the rendezvous of the biggest black-
guards and knaves in the kingdom ? Is it not betting, and the
pecuniary inducement it offers to every kind of dirty, shabby
practice ? The sullying influence has spread to the running-
path, and even, if report says true, to the river and football
field. Happily there is never the slightest whisper of suspicion
against the straightness of our cricket players, and this is entirely
owing to the absence of the betting element in connection with
the game. It is an unfortunate fact that the tendency of first-
class cricket nowadays is to swamp the amateur by the pro-
fessional. Some of our best county teams are almost wholly
composed of the latter class. The time taken up in big matches
is so great, owing to their being drawn out by a late start and
early finish each day, that the amateur is beginning to realise
his inability to give up from his business or profession so much
of this valuable commodity. What has happened in conse-
quence ? Cricket — i.e. first-class cricket — is becoming a regular
monetary speculation. Thousands upon thousands troop almost
daily to see the big matches, flooding the coffers of the county
or club, which does its very best to spin out the match for the
sake of the money. If this continue, our best matches will be-
come nothing better than gate-money contests, to the detriment
of the true interests of the game and its lovers.

Bowling is as much worthy of the name of an art as any other
branch of sport. The skill, science, and practice which are neces-
sary before a man can throw a good salmon fly, or before he
can reckon on bringing down a good average of high rocketing
pheasants, are equally necessary for one who wishes to become
an adept at bowling. Perhaps bowling does not require the
same oneness of hand and eye as batting, but it demands, if
possible, more practice and experience, and to a far greater
extent the exercise of mental qualities. The object of the
bowler is to outmanoeuvre the batsman j he has either to hit
the stumps or draw him into some incautiousness or hesitation
of play, which will result in the ball being caught from the bat

BOWLING. 103

or in the batsman being stumped out by the wicket-keeper.
This is a wide field, and suggests at once that to become profi-
cient a bowler must think — and think deeply too— not once
or twice every few minutes, but before each ball, for none
should ever be delivered without a particular object. Every
ball must be part and parcel of a scheme which the bowler has
in his mind for getting rid of the batsman. The object of every
bowler, whether fast or slow, is always to bowl what is called a
' good length ' — i.e. to pitch the ball so close to the batsman
that he cannot play it on the ' bounce,' or, in cricket parlance,
1 on the long-hop,' and yet so far from him that he cannot play
it just as it touches the ground or immediately on the rise — i.e.
on the ; half- volley.' There can be no precise measurement of
the exact spot on which the ' good-length ' ball must pitch, as it
is constantly varying according to the state of the ground, the
pace of the bowler, and the size and style of the batsman. When
the ground is ' slow ' and ' sticky ' from recent rain, the good-
length ball will have to be pitched considerably farther than
when it is ' hard ' and ' fast,' as of course the ball will come faster
off the ground when it is in the latter state than when in the
former. The reason why the bowling of this particular ball is
always the object of every bowler is because it compels the bats-
man to meet the ball with the bat by forward play, and because
in so doing he often loses sight of the ball from the moment it
touches the ground till it strikes the bat. No one can be
called a good bowler until he has the power at will of bowling
ball after ball of this sort. It often happens when two batsmen
are well set, and every wile and ' dodge ' of the bowlers has
been tried without avail, that two bowlers will have to go on to
bowl, or try to bowl, nothing else but good-length balls, in the
hopes of keeping down the runs. If this can be done effectually,
a batsman is bound through impatience to make a mistake which
in time may cost him his wicket.

Every ball that leaves the bowler's hand has, in addition to
the propelling power imparted by the bowler, one of four differ-
ent motions. The ball as it travels is either spinning from right
to left ; or from left to tight; or with a downward vertical motion ;

T04 CRICKET.

or an upward vertical motion. It is a fact that it is well-nigh
an impossibility for a ball to leave the hand of the veriest
beginner without having one of these four motions to a certain
extent imparted to it.

On these four rotary motions depends how much and in
what direction the ball will twist or deviate from its course, and
also the speed and height it will assume after touching the
ground. One of the arts of a bowler is to cheat the batsman
by making the ball pitch in one spot and, after the pitch,
suddenly take a different direction ; another is to make the
ball rise quicker off the ground than a batsman would be led
to expect from the ordinary rules of reflection. These arts are
accomplished by different movements of the fingers and hand
at the moment of delivering the ball ; for the reason why every
ball has a certain amount of spin on it is because the fingers,
being in contact with the ball as it leaves the hand, cause it
to rotate (though perhaps so infinitesimally as not to be notice-
able) on its journey to the ground.

The spin, or rotary motion, from right to left is gained by
grasping the ball chiefly with the thumb and first and second
fingers, the third and fourth fingers being placed together round
the other side of the ball. The moment the ball leaves the
hand the latter is turned quickly over from right to left, and at
the same time the first and second finger and thumb, coming
over with the hand, impart a powerful twist to the ball, which
leaves the hand when the latter is turned palm downwards.
There is also at the time of delivery an outward and upward
movement of the elbow which gives the arm the shape of a curve,
or almost a semicircle. The ball goes on its way spinning
rapidly from right to left, and the moment it touches the
ground twists very sharply towards the off side of the batsman.
This ball, termed in cricket parlance the ' leg-break,' when
well bowled is perhaps one of the most deadly of all balls, but it
is also the most difficult for a bowler to master. It is always
a slow ball, as to bowl it fast with any accuracy of pitch is an
impossibility — at any rate, it may be assumed to be so, as no
bowler has ever yet appeared who could bowl it otherwise than

BOWLING, 105

slow. Palmer, the Australian bowler, was about the fastest
ever known at this ball, but his faster ones were very in-
accurate in pitch, and he could only bowl them, strange to say,
very occasionally. The author, although he has played innings
after innings against this bowler, never remembers receiving a
single fast leg-break from him. The fact of the hand having
to turn over from right to left, and of the ball being delivered
underneath the hand, so to speak, causes it to be extremely
difficult to attain accuracy of pitch and direction. There are
many men who can bowl this ball in practice at the nets, but who
never dare attempt it in a match, having no confidence what-
ever in their ability to bowl it straight, or even fairly straight.
It is no uncommon occurrence to see this ball, bowled by one
who has tried it in practice, travelling somewhere near to where
point is standing. There are some slow bowlers who have
become fairly proficient at it, and who have enjoyed at various
times, and especially against batsmen they have never met
before, a certain amount of success ; but it is a style of bowling
which should only be encouraged to the extent of enabling
every bowler to use it occasionally. If nothing but this
ball is bowled over after over, by constant repetition it loses
its sting. The batsman gets wary, and when the ball is pitched
on his leg side gets before his stumps to protect them, and hangs
his bat in front of him, thereby rendering the loss of his wicket
extremely improbable ; and when it is pitched straight for the
middle stump or on the off side, knowing the danger of a hit
at the pitch of this ball, he will simply satisfy himself with pro-
tecting his stumps with his legs, and with letting the ball pass
the off stump without further protest. The trap laid for the
batsman in this style of bowling is the danger he incurs by
hitting unless he is actually on the pitch of the ball ; if he
falls into the snare,' the ball is perfectly certain to go up in the
air, and generally in the direction of cover-point or mid-off.
This, of course, is owing to the twist of the ball causing it to hit
the side and not the centre of the bat. Should the batsman
in the act of hitting miss the ball altogether, as is not infre-
quently the case, he pays the penalty of being stumped unless

106 CRICKET.

he happens to be a fast-footed hitter. Now, of course, these
two traps are well known to every good batsman, and con-
sequently it is, as a rule, useless to bowl ball after ball of this
nature to him — one might just as well whistle for grouse at the
end of November to come and be shot.

This ball, therefore, should only be bowled at intervals, and
when according to the bowler's judgment it may have a fair
prospect of success. Usually this happens on two occasions.
The first is when a batsman has just begun his innings, and is
playing nervously and without confidence ; a twisting ball then
from the leg side is extremely apt to fluster and annoy him,
and a catch in the slips or at point, or a catch and bowl, is
not infrequently the result. The second is when a hitter is in,
and is hitting to all parts of the field. Then the ball may be
bowled with a great chance of success, especially if the man is
anxious and impatient to hit every ball. He is extremely likely
to hit a little short of the pitch, with the above-mentioned re-
sult. It is not a good thing for the bowler to worry the bats-
man with this ball if the latter seems not to like it or to play
it nervously ; it should at most be used not more than twice
in an over. Let the bowler always remember that too much
of one particular ball, even if distasteful to the batsman, will
frighten and steady him, and perhaps in the end teach him to
play it correctly. There are some batsmen, and good batsmen
too, who never seem to be at home to this ball, although they
may have played it scores of times, and I remember once
seeing an amusing incident at a match in which a bowler
who had adopted it was playing sad havoc with the other
side. The first three batsmen had all rushed out to try and
hit the leg-break ball, and, failing to do so, paid the inevitable
penalty of being stumped. Their captain was furious at their
rashness, especially as they were all three good players ; he
explained, and rightly, that the proper way to play the
ball was either by hitting it on the full volley — i.e. before it
touched the ground — or else remaining inside the crease and
playing it quietly. He went in himself, intending to illustrate
this principle, and, lo and behold! was stumped the very first

BOWLING. 107

ball he received. He scraped forward a long way to meet the
ball, missed it, and remained in a most elegant Fuller Pilch-
like attitude, fondly imagining the toe of his boot was inside
the crease. It was, as a matter of fact, a good inch outside
it. In that match there were five stumped each innings off
the same bowler, and the captain was one of them both times.
On another occasion a batsman with rather thin and weedy
looking legs kept jumping in front of his stumps every time this
ball was delivered. Finally the ball, discovering the weak spot
in this gentleman's physical proportions, managed to find (just
above the knees) an opening large enough for it to pass through
and dislodge the bails. Great was his astonishment and disgust,
and as he retired crestfallen to the pavilion he said to the
writer, who was one of the fielding side on that occasion, • It was
not the ball or the bowler that did that ; it was all owing to my
confoundedly skinny legs ! ' A dodge well worth trying with this
ball is to bowl a good length about two feet to the leg of the
batsman ; he is nearly sure to have a hit, and there is a great
chance of the spin on the ball causing it to be a miss-hit, which
may go straight up in the air, for the wicket-keeper, point, or
bowler to secure; even if it is a clean hit to legit is nearly bound
to be in the air, and long-leg may possibly have a chance. It
this scheme is to be practised it will be generally a good thing
for the bowler to have his long-leg perfectly square, and bring
his long field on round till he is almost in the position of a for-
ward long-leg. This should be done by quietly waving the
hand in such a manner as to attract the attention of the bats-
man as little as possible. It is impossible to lay down any
rule for the way in which the fieldsmen should be placed for
this style of bowling, as this depends so much upon the play of
each particular batsman. A long-leg is, however, nearly always
necessary, and very often an extra man out on the leg side, as
mentioned already. Two men out in the field for the average
batsman cannot be dispensed with. The bowler himself, as a
rule, will know how to place his field for each batsman, but on
no occasion should he ever omit to have a short-slip. This is
such a very likely place to get a batsman snapped up that it

108 CRICKET.

should never be dispensed with to any style of bowling, except
perhaps to slow under-arm, and not always then. A slow bowler
who intends to use the leg-break, let us say, once an over, or even
once in two overs, and who relies on this ball as most likely
to secure wickets, may on ordinary occasions place his men
thus, but, as we said before, they must be changed to suit the
circumstances.

If the ground is hard and fast, as a rule a third man cannot
be dispensed with; but if inclined to be slow, he may be brought
forward to extra cover-point, between cover-point and mid-off,
or else put deep in the field on the on side. The bowler may,
however, see that the batsman is wide enough awake to restrain
himself from hitting blindly at the pitch of this ball when
straight or on the off stump ; it will then be advisable to try him
entirely on the leg side — a man may refuse the bait on one side
but take it on the other. In these circumstances extra cover-
point, and sometimes even cover-point as well, may be brought
across the wicket and placed for half-hits wide on the on — i.e.
about half the distance from the batsman that a deep field
would stand. If the batsman assumes a poky style of play, it
is often advantageous, both for saving runs and getting wickets,
to have a short-leg a little nearer the stumps than the umpire, and
the mid-on as near to the batsman as he can venture consistently
with safety. In this, as in every other style of bowling, it is a
sovereign rule to make the batsman play to the ball— i.e. to keep
it well pitched up, and compel him either to hit or play forward.

A very novel style of this kind of bowling was seen on English
cricket grounds in the summer of 1884, when the Australian
team of that year included W. H. Cooper, so well known to all
our cricketers who have visited the colonies. He bowled round
the wicket, and nearly every ball almost a wide to leg. There
was more spin and twist on the ball than had ever been seen in
this country before (excepting, perhaps, in the bowling of Mr.
Stratford, who played for a year or two for Middlesex, but who
never made his mark in first-class cricket). The ball seemed
to be twisted or screwed out of the side of his hand in the
way a billiard-marker will screw a billiard-ball along the table

BOWLING. 109

to a certain spot, and then bring it back to him. But, unfor-
tunately for him, he was unable to combine any pace with this
tremendous twist. The ball was extraordinarily slow in the
air, but directly it pitched it would spin off the ground
comparatively quickly, twisting into the batsman on the faster
wickets, sometimes as much as a yard or more. All his men
except two were on the on side, and he expected his wickets to
be obtained by the impatience of the batsman causing him to
rush out, miss, and get stumped, or else by wide hitting at the
pitch of the ball on the leg side, where there were seven fielders
with seven pretty sure pairs of hands waiting for it. In Australia
he had met with a fair share of success, especially against some
of the English elevens which had been over there. It was this
latter consideration which induced the Australian authorities
to believe that he would be a useful addition to their team.
His bowling was most unsuccessful in this country. Whethej
this was due to an accident to his hand on the voyage to
England, or from the light here being not so glaring and
bright for our English eyes as it is in Australia, cannot
be said for certain, but I have a strong opinion from my
own experience that the reason of his success in Melbourne
against Englishmen was owing to the dreadful glare on that
ground.

One peculiarity of the leg-twisting ball is that when the
ground is soft and sticky it is comparatively of no avail. The
ball then, of course, twists to a greater extent than when
the ground is hard, but it leaves the pitch so very slowly that
the batsman can either wait for it on the long-hop or hit it on
the full or half-volley. The leg-break ball on a soft ground,
if bowled at all, must be bowled faster than on hard,
in order to counteract the deadness of the turf. The best
states of the ground for this bowling, as indeed for most, are
when the ground has been hard and fast, and has since become
crumbly and covered with loose bits of grass and worn
turf, and when there has been heavy rain to saturate the ground
which is being rapidly dried and caked by a hot sun. In the
former state the ball takes plenty of twist, and also leaves the

IIO CRICKET.

ground very quickly, in addition to sometimes getting up un-
comfortably high for the batsman. In the caked state the ball
takes lots of twist, and puzzles the batsman by the varied and
uneven paces at which it leaves the ground, sometimes coming
sharply and high, at other stopping on the ground and, in bats-
man's parlance, ' getting up and looking at you.'

WICKET KEEPER

K

LONG LEG

MID OH

EXTRA MID OFF

MID OFF BOWLER

DEEP mO OFF

DEEP HIIO OH

The leg-break diagram.

These positions of the fieldsmen will suit under-arm bowling, except that, perhaps
extra mid-off inay be put out on the on side.

The 'leg-break ' ball is usually bowled from round the wicket,
as from this side there is more scope for the bowler to make
the ball twist. It is doubtless the best side of the stumps to
choose for the delivery of this ball, but every bowler should re-
member that it is very nearly as good as a change of bowling to

BOWLING. in

change from 'round ' to f over' the wicket, and this is especially
so with leg-break balls. The ball delivered from round the
wicket generally leaves the hand a good foot outside the ex-
tremity of the bowling crease ; this means that it starts about
4 feet 4 inches from the middle stump of the bowler's wicket,
and in its journey through the air, even if pitched in a line with

SHORT 'SUP

W/CKET*K£EPEfl

POIHT

MID ON

JL

HALF MIT

BOWLER
HI*0FP

DEEP MID OFF

DEEP MID OH

Position of field if bowling on leg side.

the leg stump of the batsman's wicket, it has to make consider-
able way from the leg side of the wicket. This, of course, makes
the ball go across the wicket more from the pitch, and, as a rule,
means that a leg-stump leg-break ball round the wicket misses
the wicket on the off side. A batsman, if the ball is pitched off
his wicket, may defend it, as the rule of leg before wicket now

H2 CRICKET.

stands, with his legs, and consequently the bowler has not much
chance of hitting it. When bowled from over the wicket the leg-
break ball, being deliveied in a direct line with the batsman's
wicket, will naturally, if pitched on the leg-stump or between the
legs and the wicket, not twist so much, thus making it more likely
to hit the wicket if missed by the batsman. There is also a
diiect advantage to be gained by bowling over the wicket if the
batsman is inclined to get in front of his stumps, as there is
always a better chance for the bowler to get an appeal for
leg before wicket answered in his favour than when bowling
from the other side.

Although, as previously mentioned, there has never been
any instance of the leg-break ball being bowled by a fast
bowler, some of the best bowlers of the past generation of
cricketers used to bowl with a considerable bias from the leg
side, and were also of well over medium pace. Martingell and
Silcock were bowlers of this class. This old style was very
effective, and it is greatly to be regretted that it has almost
entirely disappeared from the game at the present day. It
differed from the slow ball that has been discussed only in
the amount of spin ; and as there was so much less power ex-
pended in spinning or twisting, the pace of the ball was greatly
in excess of that which can be got on to the slow leg-break.
The ball was delivered round the wicket, at the very extent of
the crease, in order to make the angle from the hand to an
imaginary straight line between the two middle stumps as great
as possible. The hand was very little higher than the hip when
the ball was delivered, and instead of the hand and wrist being
completely turned over at the moment of delivery, as in the
slow leg- break, the fingers imparted a right to left spin to the
ball. The ball, coming from a great distance round the
wicket and with a considerable amount of leg spin, would be
gradually working away to the batsman's off side every inch
of its journey, both before and after pitching. Catches in
the slips and on the off side were numerous from this style
of bowling, and it required the batsman's greatest care and

BO WLING.

"3
It

caution to guard himself against playing inside the balls
is a great pity we do not see more of this bowling now.

The next spin or twist on the ball which we will discuss is
the rotary motion from left to right. This, in cricket phrase-
ology, is termed the ' off ' break, and is far more universal than
that from the ' leg.' In fact, so common is it, and so easy to learn,

The leg-break.

that nearly everyone who has ever bowled in a match knows
more or less how to put this spin on the ball. It is, of course,
always easier to get spin on to a slow ball than on to a fast one.
When the ball to be delivered is a slow one, the fingers and
hand may be twisted into almost any shape, as so little power
is required actually to deliver the ball ; all the strength of hand,

U4

CRICKET.

Likely balls ; and what may become of them if
not correctly played.

a, a likely one for a wild hitter to get himself out on
the off" side ; b and c , likely for a stump, or, if hit
with straight bat, a catch to deep field-off ; d and e,
likely for ' catch and bowl : ' f, long-leg and half-hit
chances— short-slip and wicket-keeper often get an
easy chance off this ball.

of wrist, and of the fin-
gers may be utilised for
the purposes of spin
alone. When the ball
has to be a fast one, the
power necessary to pro-
pel the ball at the re-
quired pace prevents so
much of the power of
fingers, &c, being ex-
pended on spin. A slow
ball always takes the
spin, after leaving the
ground, to a greater ex-
tent than a fast one, be-
cause it is longer on the
ground when it pitches,
and the spinning has
more time to take effect
on the turf.

The natural spin
on every ball which is
bowled is from left to
right — i.e. the off break.
Even when a fielder
throws in a ball from a
distance it almost in-
variably has this spin
on it. If you watch the
smallest boy in the street
throwing a stone, you
will find, nine times out
of ten, the stone has ac-
quired this spin. It is
then no wonder that al-
most every right-handed

BOWLING. 115

bowler relies upon this twist as his principal artifice. The twist
-depends rather more on the power of the fingers than on the
hand and wrist, as in the ' leg-break.' The ball is usually, by a
slow bowler, grasped firmly with all the fingers resting on the
seam, as this gives more purchase and resistance for the fingers
to operate: The latter at the moment of delivery spin the ball,
almost in the same way as they would spin a top, and instead
of an upward and outward motion of the elbow, as in the ' leg-
break,' there is an inward motion towards the side of the bowler.
The hand is turned over outwards when the ball is delivered,
and, if properly bowled and pitched just outside the off stump,
and under good conditions of ground, the ball, after the pitch,
will change its course abruptly towards the batsman and the
wicket.

Differing from the ' leg-break,' this ball can with practice
be accompanied by a great accuracy of pitch — an accuracy
which has been attained almost to perfection by some of our
best known bowlers. The late James Southerton, the famous
Surrey bowler, could bowl in this style for hours with only a
very occasional variation from a perfect ' good length.' Alfred
Shaw, of Nottingham, in his day was perhaps the greatest
exponent of accuracy of pitch combined with the slow 'off
break,' or what is generally termed ' break-back.' This ball
should be bowled a good length, and generally about two or
three inches outside the off stump.

Of course the amount of twist the ball will take depends
on the state of the ground, and this should at once be apparent
to the bowler. The danger most to be apprehended by the
batsman from the off break is that in playing forward, if not
quite on the pitch of the ball, he is very apt, owing to the twist,
to play outside, and allow it to pass between his bat and right
leg to the wicket. It is never a wise thing for the bowler to
use the ' off break ' every ball, although there are many who
do so. Even if he is devoid of all other artifice, and has no
command over the arts of 'change of pace,' 'flight,' or the 'leg-
break,' he should often vary his style by a ball without any

1 2

u6

CRICKET.

twist at all, and this should not always be straight. If a bats-
man has been playing over after over nothing but good-length
1 off break/ a ball pitched about the same spot, two or three
inches outside the off stump, and without any off break at all,
will very often be found to go to hand in the slips, because
the batsman is expecting the break and plays inside the ball.

The off break.

The fast 'off break' is a most deadly ball, and Lock-
wood, Richardson, Mold, and Hearne are four bowlers who
have a consistent break. A slight slope in the ground
from the off side is always a great advantage to fast bowlers
who try the 'break-back.' This comparatively rare ball,

BOWLING.

117

when it does come, is sure to try the very best batsman.
Its difficulty arises from the fact that the ball is of such
a pace as to necessitate quick forward play, when the sud-
den turn after the pitch causes it to be missed. For playing
■ off breaks ' of all paces, it is a great and
golden rule for batsmen to remember : Never
allow space between the bat and the left leg
for the ball to pass through. This rule, which
insures the left leg of the batsman being
placed well across the wicket when playing
forward, if followed, will render it almost
impossible for him to be bowled out with an
1 off break.' It is an astounding fact that this
simple rule, which should be patent to every-
one, seems unknown to all our best batsmen
with one or two notable exceptions. W. G.
•Grace has always played with his leg up to
his bat, thereby preventing the ball from
finding an opening between the tw T o. W. W.
Read, of Surrey, is another who plays thus.
We do not express any opinion here as to
the bearing of this rule on the leg-before-
wicket question. It is sufficient for a bats-
man at present, as the rule now stands, that
so long as the ball does not pitch between
the two wickets he cannot be given out
'l.b.w.'

The two 'spins,' from the leg and the
■off, are the chief and most important for all
practical purposes. If a bowler by con-
stant practice has acquired the power of
twisting the ball from off or leg at will, and can at the same
time bowl a ' good length,' he has laid a tolerable foundation
for future success. We say tolerable, because, in bowling, twist,
as we shall see later on, is not everything ; it is an essential
element in good bowling, but it is only one of several, all of

' Off breaks.'

Bj c, all good ones ;
d, if the batsman stands
with his legs some way
from the leg stump, this
is likely to bowl him
off his legs : but it is a
beauty to hit on the on
side.

u8 CRICKET.

which must combine together before anyone can earn the repu-
tation of a first-class bowler.

The two other spins which can be put on the ball are
what have been called the * upward vertical ' and the ' downward
vertical.' By the 'upward vertical,' I mean when the ball spins
in its way to the ground vertically, and upwards with regard to-
the bowler. It may be compared to the spin imparted to the
billiard ball in the screw stroke. This is effected by striking
the ball low down, which makes it revolve in its course upwards.
The effect this upward revolution has is seen when the
striker's ball meets the object ball, the former having a decided
inclination to stop and return to the striker. In the same way
a cricket ball, when made to revolve upwards, has a tendency
to stop and go slower off the pitch than it went before it
reached the ground.

This twist, as a matter of fact, is never practised ; and
it is a great pity that more attention has not been paid to
it. Of course it is very much more difficult to make the
ball revolve in this manner than in either the leg or the off
break, but it is quite within the powers of the possessor of a
fairly strong set of fingers. The lower half only of the ball
should be held, so that the upper half protrudes above the
hand and fingers, and at the moment of delivery, which must
be from the level of the shoulder or lower, the fingers and
hand must impart as much upward spin as possible.

The downward vertical spin is the reverse of this, and is
caused by the upper half of the ball being grasped instead of
the lower, as in the upward. This spin imparts to the ball
a tendency to come quicker from the pitch than the pace
in the air would seem to suggest, and is analogous to the
1 following up ' stroke at billiards. The latter is made by
striking the ball at the top, making it revolve downwards and
vertically from the striker. Very many bowlers possess this
downward spin in their bowling without being at all aware of
the fact. They know, as also do those who play against them,
that every now and then one of their balls will, in cricket slang.

BOWLING.

119

'make haste from the pitch.' The batsman finds he has mis-
taken the pace of the ball, which flies past him before he
is anything like ready to play it, and when his stumps lie
prostrate, as often as not he will come back to the pavilion with
the old, old story, ' Bowled with a shooter ; ' whereas, in fact,
the ball has hit the middle or even upper part of his stumps.
He has entirely lost the ball from the pitch owing to his mis-
judgment of its pace, and concludes erroneously that it has
shot underneath his bat.

We have now considered the four kinds of spin which can
be put on to a cricket ball. Of course there may be combina-
tions of two kinds, as, for instance, the ball may be spinning
from right to left or left to right, and at the same time be
revolving to a certain extent vertically downwards or upwards ;
but it would be impossible to discuss the result of every such
combination.

The ball may break from ' leg,' and at the same time show
by its acceleration in speed after the pitch that it has been
revolving downwards as well, and the same may happen with
the break from the ' off ; ' but such variations are beyond the
reach of any practical discussion.

Let us now turn to another element of good bowling —
change of pace. It does not require any great amount of
technical cricket knowledge to understand that, if a bowler
delivers every ball at the same uniform pace, his bowling is
easier for a batsman to judge and play than when he is con-
tinually altering and changing the pace. If a batsman mis-
judges the pace of the ball he often loses his wicket. If he
plays too slow for a fast ball, or too fast for a slow one, he
generally makes a fatal mistake. As it is necessary for a shooter
to accurately judge the pace of a driven grouse before pulling
the trigger, so is it equally necessary for a batsman to judge the
pace of the ball before he plays to it. This power of judging
pace only comes after long experience ; but when it does exist
it seems to be exercised almost intuitively, and without any
conscious thought — indeed there is often no time for thought.

120 CRICKET.

Perhaps the one thing which made Mr. Spofforth, the famous
Australian bowler, superior at his best to all others, and has
earned him the reputation of being the best bowler that has ever
lived, was his wonderful power of changing the pace of the ball
without making it perceptible to the batsman. In his bowling
the same run, action, and exertion were apparently used for de-
livering a slow or medium-paced ball as for a fast one. Many
a time, especially on his first arrival in England, when this bowl-
ing was strange to our batsmen, the ball seemed to dislodge the
bails long after the bat had completed the stroke, and was per-
haps high in the air. Change of pace, to be effective, must not
mean change of action ; and the first thing a bowler who wishes
to practise this art must understand, is that the slightest varia-
tion in style or action for a slower or faster ball will at once put
the batsman on the quivive and destroy the effect of the device.

C. T. B. Turner, the Australian bowler, was a great adept
at changing the pace of the ball without sounding any warning
note to the batsman. He is one of the very finest bowlers we
have ever seen bowl ; he has great command over the ball,
and a beautiful and easy delivery. His performances in this
country have been wonderful ; the only defect in his bowling
which, in the writer's opinion, keeps him from being considered
Spofforth's equal is that his action is too easy to see. A good
batsman is not so likely to be deceived by him as readily as by
Spofforth's windmill deliveries.

When a slow or medium-pace bowler wishes to deceive
the batsman by a change of pace, he has, of course, two courses
open to him — either to accelerate the speed of the ball or
diminish it. When he wishes to bowl a faster ball than usual,
he must remember that the object of the experiment is to make
the batsman play slower to the ball than he has been doing,
and that this result will be far more easily accomplished by
pitching a good-length — if anything, a little further than a good-
length — ball, than by a short one. If the latter is bowled, the
batsman, although deceived in the pace up to the pitch, has
time to discover his mistake before the ball reaches him, and

BOWLING. 121

consequently has his bat ready in time to stop it. If a ball
is, however, pitched a good length, or a trifle beyond it, and up
to the pitch is successful in deceiving the batsman, he will not
have much chance of stopping it afterwards.

Palmer, another of the famous Australians, sends down the
best fast ball that has been seen from a medium-pace bowler.
There is no change of action to warn the batsman, no
longer or faster run, but the ball comes with lightning rapidity,
generally pitched well up, and very often in the block-hole,
making that most deadly ball a ' fast yorker,' about which
something will be said farther on. The change from slow
or medium-pace bowling to quite slow is much more frequently
practised than the change to fast, and consequently we may
presume it is more easy of accomplishment. There are few
slow or medium-pace bowlers who do not try occasionally to
deceive the batsman by making the high slow ball pitch a little
shorter than the rest have been doing. But although there are
many bowlers who endeavour thus to deceive, there are but
few who are really skilful in the art.

It is an extremely difficult thing to reduce the pace on the
ball without altering the action. Mr. SporTorth, the Australian,
as we have observed, excelled in this, as also did Alfred
Shaw, of Nottingham, when at his best. For many years
Shaw had the reputation of being the best slow bowler in
England, and justly so. His most deadly device was, after
he had bowled three or four of his ordinary paced ones,
to toss the ball a little higher, a little slower, and a little
shorter. Unless the batsman detected the alteration in speed
at the moment of delivery, he made what was often a
fatal mistake. If he hit, the ball would go high in the air,
generally in the direction of deep field-on ; if he played for-
ward, a catch and bowl was the very likely result. If this ball
is bowled without deceiving the batsman, it generally meets
with a very heavy penalty, as, if rightly judged at first, it can
generally be either waited for and hit almost to any part of the
field on the ' long-hop ' or bound, or run down and driven past

122 CRICKET.

the bowler ; but the latter feat can only be accomplished by
batsmen who are very quick on their legs.

Some of the best exponents of this ball appear, just prior to
delivery, to greatly exert their bodies, and go through their whole
customary action, while the arm, dragged slower than usual
through the air, delivers the ball when the body is compara-
tively at rest. This, no doubt, gives the batsman the idea that
the ball is going to be delivered before it really does leave the
bowler's hand. But it would be quite beyond the capabilities
of the writer to furnish any intelligible hints as to how to bowl
this ball j every bowler will with practice find this out for himself.

As a rule, good bowlers of the present day bowl with their
arms above the shoulder, and it is a rudiment in the art that
the action of delivery should be as high as possible. The
high delivery is certainly the most successful where the ground
is hard, fast, and true, as then little or no twist can be put on
to the ball, and the higher it is made to bound the more chance
there is of the batsman making an uppish stroke. In addition
to this advantage which the high has over the low delivery, the
higher the arm is raised above the shoulder the more difficult
it is for a batsman to judge the pitch and flight of the ball.

With regard to the amount of success that slow and fast
bowling meet with, a great deal depends on the state of the
ground, but speaking of England, and on hard wickets, fast
bowlers are having the best of it ; at any rate, Richardson is
far the most deadly, while Mold, Hearne, Davidson, Bland,
Cuttell, and Hirst are very successful. In a later chapter,
however, the causes are discussed which seem to show that
head bowlers, bowlers who change their pace and methods,
will have to be the bowlers of the future. But it is also true,
as a general rule, that slow bowling is more difficult to play
than fast. The advantages that it possesses over fast are as
follows : —

First. — The slowly delivered ball describes a curved line in
the air both before it pitches and afterwards to the bat ; and
balls coming in a curved line are far more difficult to play

BOWLING. 123.

accurately than those which come quick and straight from the
pitch. If the batsman properly judged the fast ball, by simply
putting his bat straight forward he would always meet and
stop it. It is not quite so with the slower ball. The ball,
coming on to the ground in a curve, will leave it in a curve, and
may consequently go over the shoulder of the bat. Besides.,
the quicker the ball is, the shorter time the batsman has to play
it ; his mode of playing must be decided on instantaneously,
so he has no time to get into two minds on the subject.

Secondly. — In slow bowling there is always more actual hit-
ting than in fast, and the more hitting the greater chance there is
of the ball going up in the air. Fast bowling may perhaps be
driven more — that is to say, it may be pushed hard by good for-

SLOW BALL

FAST BALL

ward play in front of the wicket in all directions ; but it is not
often with this style of bowling that the bat is lifted high in the
air, and the shoulders, arms, and whole body combine together
for a big hit or ' slog/ as it is sometimes called, whereas slows
often tempt the best of batsmen to hit without quite getting on
to the pitch of the ball, the consequence being that the ball
goes up in the air somewhere.

It is a very common occurrence to see a slow bowler who is
bowling really well, and with tolerable success, taken off at once
on the advent of some batsman who has earned a reputation
for big hitting. He himself may be nervous about the fearful

124 CRICKET.

smashing the batsman may give him, and suggest to his cap-
tain to put on some fast bowler in his place, or else the captain
may make the change himself. What is the usual result ? The
fast bowler compels the hitter to play a steady game, and then,
when the latter has just got his eye well set and fit for hitting,
on go the slows again, with the probable result of being utterly
knocked to pieces in a few overs. If the slows had been
allowed a chance at first, when the batsman's eye had not got
settled down to the light, and he himself was still suffering
from the nervousness inevitable to every man on first going in,
what a different tale might have been told ! It is always the
best thing to put on slows to a big hitter when he first comes
in. His anxiety to begin to hit at once is fostered by the slow,
easy-looking balls that give him such time to lift his bat and
put his whole strength into the stroke ; this anxiety is often
helped, too, by his nervousness, which in many instances pro-
duces a tendency to hit.

On a certain occasion one of the biggest hitters our cricket
grounds have ever seen made about eighty runs without having
a single slow ball bowled to him. The captain at last put on
a slow bowler out of sheer desperation. As the slow bowler
walked up to the wicket to bowl, the big hitter turned to him
and said, 'What, are you going to bowl your donkey-drops?
I'll hit them all out of the ground/ ■ If you keep on doing it
I shall have to go off/ was the modest reply. The third ball
of the over there was a terrific slog ; the bat fairly whistled with
the speed it went through the air, and the ball, touching the
shoulder, landed in short-slip's hands.

There are only two exceptions to the golden rule to put on
slows when a hitter first comes in: the first is when there is
something peculiar connected with the condition of the ground
which is making a fast bowler at that particular time especially
deadly; and the second, when the condition of the game renders
it imperatively necessary to keep down the runs at all costs. In
the latter case a slow bowler may prove too expensive, as even
the miss-hits of a strong hitter are apt to go to the boundary.

BOWLING. 125

Thirdly (to resume the consideration of the advantages of
slow bowling, interrupted by the anecdote and the statement
of the rule and its exceptions). — Slow bowling offers more
opportunity to the wicket-keeper for stumping than fast. It
is so tempting for a batsman to rush in and drive the slow
tossed-up ball that often he chooses the wrong one, misses
it, and is left standing still a yard or two out of his ground.
Chances to the wicket-keeper are also much easier off slows
than fast, and consequently a great many more wickets are
taken.

Fourthly. — The very slowness of the ball induces liberties
of all sorts to be taken, besides that of hitting mentioned
above. The batsman, when his eye is well in, often tries to
score by placing balls to a particular spot, which their pitch
does not justify. A favourite error that even the best batsmen
fall into is that of trying to hit the leg-stump half-volleys
too much to the on side, and sometimes absolutely to leg, a
stroke which would never enter his head were a fast bowler
bowling

Fifthly. — A slow bowler has much greater command of pitch,
pace, and spin than a fast one. The power which is expended
by the latter on the pace of the ball is available by the former
for these more subtle devices. There is consequently a much
wider field for experiment open to the slow bowler. Usually a
fast bowler bowls away ball after ball in the hopes of breaking
down the batsman's defence by a good-length ball or a 'yorker ; '
if he fails to do this he retires in favour of the next change. A
slow bowler has many devices, of which actually bowling the
batsman out is perhaps very seldom resorted to. He should
be able to pitch the ball within a few inches of the spot
he wishes, and thus, when he has ascertained any particular
weakness the batsman seems to possess, he is able to take
advantage of it. There are very few batsmen who have not
certain favourite strokes ; some may have a partiality for
cutting, others for playing on the on side for ones and twos,
others for off driving ; but whatever the particular penchant

126 CRICKET.

may be, a slow bowler's business is to make himself acquainted
with it and then take the greatest possible advantage of it.
Suppose a batsman shows by his play that he is always on the
look-out for a cut, and even goes so far as to cut balls which
should be driven or played forward to, on the off side, a slow
bowler by his command of pitch and pace may do much execu-
tion. A ball pitched a trifle further up than usual on the off
side and a trifle faster may, and often does, induce the batsman
to try his favourite stroke, at the imminent peril of placing the
ball in the hands of point or third man, or of being caught at the
wicket. A slower and higher ball than usual pitched on the leg-
stump will often induce a batsman to try a favourite ' on side '
stroke, at the risk of playing with a cross bat and being bowled
or out leg before wicket. In fact, every fault that it is possible
for a batsman to possess may be taken advantage of by a slow
bowler to a much greater extent than by one of great pace.
How often one sees a batsman who has given great trouble
dismissed by a slow bowler who seems to have absolutely
no merit whatever ! The ball is tossed high in the air. with
apparently no spin of any sort, and so slow as hardly to reach
the wicket, and yet the well-set batsman falls a prey to his over-
anxiety to play the ball where the pitch of it does not warrant.
Sixthly. — A slow bowler has the advantage over a fast one
of having what is equivalent to an extra man in the field, viz.
himself. After the ball is bowled he is firm on his legs, ready to
run in for a catch and bowl, or to dart to the on or the off side
as the batsman shapes to play the ball. No matter how hard
the ball is returned from the bat, he has always ample time to
get down with the right hand or the left or to jump high in the
air ; when the batsmen are running he is always able to get
behind his wickets ready to receive the ball when returned by
the fielder, a golden rule for every bowler which is too often
neglected. A fast bowler is generally unsteady on his legs after
the ball is delivered ; the pace with which he runs up to the
wicket carries him on a few paces after the delivery, and he is
thus generally unable to exhibit the same activity and sharpness

BOWLING.

127

in fielding his own bowling as a slow bowler does. In days gone
by, when grounds were bad and rough, slow bowling was not so
successful as fast, but the general improvement in the ground
has altered this.

And now, having seen some of the advantages slow bowling
possesses over fast, and before discussing the latter's merits, let
us see on what principles a slow bowler should endeavour to

A hot return.

bowl, and what rules he should follow in order to attain suc-
cess. Whilst speaking of slow bowling we shall refer to
any pace under that of medium, as the rules and principles
of medium are included in what is said on fast bowling.
Perhaps the most important thing that every bowler, whether
fast, medium, or slow, should realise is, as we have said before,
to keep the ball well pitched up when a batsman first comes in.

12 8 CRICKET.

The importance of this rule is manifest, as a short-pitched ball
requires no play, whereas one pitched a good length, or even
farther, requires steadiness and accuracy of eye to play ;
because there is a moment after its pitch when it is lost to the
vision, and consequently if the eye lacks accuracy the ball will
be missed or bungled. An old professional cricketer, one who
has made his mark in times gone by both with bat and ball,
once observed to the author, ' Anything rather than straight long-
hops, sir, when a man first comes in ; wides and full-pitches are
better,' and he was right ; straight long-hops, which, alas ! many
of our professional bowlers bowl only too often, in order to
prevent runs being made off them, do more to get in the eyes
of batsmen than any other sort of ball. Often and often
one sees a bowler, and perhaps one who has the name of
being first-class, send down to a new batsman straight long-
hops one after the other — balls which it is impossible, or nearly
so, to score off, and then at the end of each over walk to his
place with a thoroughly satisfied air, as if adding one more
maiden over to his analysis had really helped his side on to
the ultimate goal of victory. It is always better for a bowler
to see a fresh batsman make half a dozen runs from well-pitched
balls or half-volleys his first over than to see him stop four
straight long-hops.

On the fall of a wicket the bowler should always remember
that the new batsman is entirely unaccustomed to the light
and not yet warm to his work, and that consequently the pet
devices which may have been clearly seen through and merci-
lessly punished by the retiring batsman are for the present quite
fresh for the new one. He should consequently begin by doing
all he can to get rid of him at once before he gets ' set.' He
should in the first two or three overs try every effective ball he
knows — and certainly in the first over he should try a 'yorker.'
This ball, called in days gone by a ' tice,' an abbreviation of
' entice,' is certainly one of the most deadly balls that can be
bowled, if not absolutely the most deadly. We believe that, if
statistics could be kept of how every wicket fell during the

BOWLING. 129

course of a season, more would be found victims to the 'yorker'
than to any other ball. We can find no derivation for the word
' yorker,' but are told that it came from the Yorkshiremen, who
were fonder of bowling this ball than any other. A story is told
of a famous old Yorkshire professional who, on being asked
whether he knew why this ball was called a ' yorker,' replied,
' Of course I do.' 'Well?' said his questioner. 'Why, what
else could you call it ? ' was the answer, with a puzzled look and
a scratch on the top of his head. The ordinary definition of a
1 yorker ' is a ball that pitches inside the crease, and this, no
doubt, is correct so far as it goes, but it does not go far enough.
It really should be, any ball that pitches directly underneath the
bat. It is quite possible for a man to be bowled out with a
1 yorker ' when he is two or three yards out of his ground, if he
misjudges the ball, and allows it to pitch directly beneath his
bat, although the ball pitches as far from the crease as he is
standing. The most deadly sort of ' yorker,' however, is the one
that pitches about three or four inches inside the crease. One
mistake which the batsman makes with this ball is that he
imagines it is going to pitch shorter for a half-volley, and gets
ready to hit, when he finds the ball coming farther than he ex
pected, and is then too late to stop it. Another grave error
which many batsmen fall into is that of lifting their bats up, after
judging the pace and pitch of the ■ yorker,' intending to come
down on it as it touches the ground, which really is at the very
last moment. It seems an easy thing to stop a ' yorker ' in this
way, but it really requires the greatest nicety in timing, and a
moment late means that the ball has passed and the stumps are
down. Whenever a batsman is playing ' yorkers ' by chopping
down on them inside his crease, it is as certain as can be that
he is not at all at home with them, and the bowler may hope
for success with every one he tries. Even if the bat does come
down on a ' yorker ' in the crease at the last moment, it often
dribbles on with the spin, and just dislodges the bails. The
only proper, workmanlike way to deal with ' yorkers ' is to play
them forward. The bat should be thiust forward directly the

K

130 CRICKET.

ball is seen to be right up to the batsman, and then it cannot
fail to be stopped. One great peculiarity of ' yorkers ' is that
it is impossible to bowl such a ball to some batsmen. W. G.
Grace hardly ever gets one ; directly the ball leaves the bowler's
hand he sees its destination, viz. an inch inside the crease ; he
puts the bat out to meet the ball, and makes it one of the
easiest possible, viz. a full-pitch. If there were no such thing
as misjudgment on the part of a batsman, there would be no such
thing as a ' yorker.' It depends for its very existence on being
taken for something else. If every batsman were perfectly
accurate in his sight and judgment of pitch, every so-called
'yorker' would be neither more nor less than a 'full-pitch.'
However, as every batsman, we are thankful to say, is liable to
err in judging the pitch, and as nearly every batsman when
first going in is more liable to err with a 'yorker' than any
other ball, the bowler should most decidedly try it. A slow
bowler should first try a medium-paced 'yorker,' somewhat
faster than his usual pace, and then a slower one. It is as-
tonishing how many wickets fall to slow 'yorkers ;' the ball is
mistaken for everything but what it really is, viz. a full-pitch —
for every ball pitching inside the crease must be playable as a
full-pitch.

When a bowler is put on to bowl by his captain, it is his
duty to do everything in his power to dislodge the batsman.
It is really quite a secondary consideration for him whether
many or few runs are being made off his bowling. It is the
duty of the captain to tell the bowler when he wants the pace
in the run-getting to be diminished, and then, and not till then,
must the bowler begin to bowl straight and short with that
object. But until certain instructions are given, the bowler
must never stop for an instant in his endeavour to get the
batsman's wicket. If he has experimented with every one of
his arts and is unsuccessful, or even if he becomes too expen-
sive in run-getting before he has done this, the captain's duty
is to take him off.

It is a common sight enough to see a bowler put on in a

BOWLING, i 3 r

match who simply dare not try the experiments which he has
practised with success, for fear of being hit for a four or two
and taken off. He is quite content to see ball after ball
played full in the middle of the bat straight back to him,,
knowing well that with such bowling he has not the re-
motest chance of getting a wicket. In the hopes of getting a
wicket a slow bowler should often try leg half- volleys ; they
are, of course, delightful balls for a batsman to hit, but, at the
present day, when the old George Parr leg hit is comparatively
unknown — viz. to fine long-leg all along the ground well behind
the wicket — and the leg hitting off slows is generally high and
square, they often result in a long-leg catch, and sometimes
one at the wicket, through the batsman hitting too quick at the
ball. A bowler who has been sending down ball after ball with
the off break on should often try pitching one on the same
spot but without the break ; the batsman is very apt to play in-
side this ball, and place it in short-slip's hands. In addition to
the change of pace which we have above commented on, it is
a most excellent thing occasionally to lower and heighten the
action. Alfred Shaw used continually, by lowering his action y
to send in a ball which skimmed, so to speak, from the pitch
at a great pace, and much faster than his ordinary balls. The
raising of the arm higher than usual makes the ball bound
higher, which is very often an advantage, especially on rough
cut-up grounds. The good-length ball outside the off stump,
pitched perhaps eight inches to a foot wide of it, and without
any break on at all, is often a most telling ball, especially to
eager, excitable batsmen. The ball, not being straight, cannot
be met with the full face of the bat, and consequently, unless
the batsman puts his left leg right across the wicket, he
must, in playing it, lift it up in the air, when it is probably
captured by cover-point or mid-off. If this ball can be made to
go ever so little from the leg side after it has pitched it becomes
more deadly, as then there is a much greater chance of the
batsman being unable to get over the ball sufficiently to keep
it along the ground.

1 32 CRICKET.

There has grown up in late years a most deplorable practice
amongst batsmen of leaving balls on the off side alone, for fear
of risking their wickets. In every match, big and little, one
may see batsmen jump in front of their wickets time after time
to off balls, allowing the ball to go by unplayed at, or if it
twists to hit their legs. We call this a most deplorable prac-
tice, because it is not real cricket. The true object of the bats-
man is to defend his wicket with his bat ; let him use his legs as
well if he likes, but his bat he should certainly use, and when
he holds the bat high in the air and guards his wicket with his
legs, and legs alone, in our opinion he goes beyond the limit of
legitimate batting. A batsman is perfectly right in refusing to
■hit or play at wide balls on the off side, but when he remains
passive to balls a few inches only outside the off stump, he not
only acknowledges his want of confidence in himself, but also
•degrades the dignity of a cricket bat by substituting in its place
his own usually nervous legs. We remember seeing, some
years back, a batsman who had completed his hundred refusing,
on a perfectly good wicket, to play ball after ball on the off side.
The famous old bowler David Buchanan was bowling at one
end, and could not understand how some of his most lovely
half-volleys were allowed to pass by unlooked at and despised.
The batsman, however, was thoroughly well roasted by his own
side and the other for his tame play ; and it was satisfactory
afterwards to learn that he had given up his weakness for see-
ing long-hops and half-volleys pass on the off without being first
heavily taxed for the good of his side. It is rather a difficult
thing for a slow bowler to know what to do when he has to bowl
to a batsman of this sort. He might, of course, go on bowling
on the off side, and try to tire the batsman out and make, him
play; but this, in these present days of good wickets and lengthy
matches, would take far too long. The best course for a bowler
to take is continually to alter his pace, and endeavour by
pitching a ball sharper from the pitch and quicker than usual on
the off stump to get the batsman out leg before wicket. Just
the very slightest degree outside the off stump is also a good

BO WLING.

133

place for this class of player ; he gets undecided whether to
adopt his mawkish style of play or not, and in his indecision is
apt to make mistakes.

A favourite scheme for a slow bowler to get rid of a bats-
man is by bowling him off his legs. This is always more easy
of accomplishment when the batsman's legs stand some dis-
tance from the leg-stump and his bat. When this is going to
be tried an extra man should be put out on the on side between
long-leg and deep field-on, as the ball which is to be bowled
will, if hit by the batsman, generally go in that direction. It
the bowler can dispense with a long-leg, it is advantageous to
have a short-leg, perhaps a yard or two in front of the umpire,
and also a mid-wicket on as near to the batsman as he can
with safety venture. The ball should then be bowled with as
much off break and as good a length as possible, in a line with
the leg-stump ; if played at and missed on account of the twist
it hits the legs, and so cannons into the wicket. If it is met with
the bat there is always a chance of the twist taking it into the
hands of short-leg or mid-on. The place on which the ball
pitches must depend on the state of the ground and the amount
of twist that can be put on to the ball.

Spofforth, the Australian, was a bowler who used this ball
very successfully, as indeed he did most others. When he had
the ground in a suitable state — i.e. when it was sticky or else
crumbled and loose— he used to place a short-leg close in to the
batsman about two yards behind the wicket ; he would also
have another short-leg or mid-on close in to the batsman and
fairly straight. He would then bowl about medium pace,
pitching ball after ball a good length on the leg-stump, and
with as much off break as he could get on, which, of course,
would vary with the state of the ground. The result of this
manoeuvre was to make the batsman's chance of remaining at
the wickets for long extremely doubtful. The pace (medium)
would compel him to play forward to all good-length balls ;
the break- back and abrupt rise or kick then made it very
probable that he would either place the ball in the hands of

134

CRICKET.

one of the expectant short-legs or else be bowled off his bat or
legs. The author recollects on one occasion having to play
against the redoubtable Spofforth under the above circum-
stances. After receiving a few balls he came to the conclusion
that it was absolutely impossible to prevent being captured by
•one of the short-legs, who were both standing ridiculously close,
and every ball was rising uncomfortably high. He determined
to take the liberty of pulling, and did so once or twice with
success, till he paid the usual penalty of the practice on a kick-
ing wicket by being badly cut over. He then tried jumping
in front of his wicket and trying to slide the breaking balls off
his bat to very fine long-leg. Spofforth, however, was too
much for him, and almost immediately bowled a straight
middle stump ball without any break on it and rather faster
than the others ; it kept low, hit the shin, and there was as
dead a case of ' l.b.w.' as any bowler could wish for.

A favourite trick of some slow bowlers is to bowl from
different distances. Sometimes the bowler will have one leg
behind the wickets and the other in front, and sometimes both
behind ; we have even seen some bowl occasionally with the
front leg as much as two yards behind the wicket. The object
of this is to deceive the batsman as to the pitch of the ball by
changing the distance the ball has to travel. This is doubtless
an excellent theory, but in our opinion it is not of much
worth in actual practice. We have seen bowlers of all sorts re-
peatedly try this experiment, but in our experience it never
meets with any appreciable success. This is perhaps owing
to the fact that the batsman can always see very clearly when
the bowler does not come up the whole way to the wicket,
and is accordingly on the alert for a shorter pitched ball than
usual. The only practiser of this trick who ever seems to turn
it to good account is Tom Emmett, the left-handed York-
shire veteran j he usually bowls his slow wides from some dis-
tance behind the crease, and certainly obtains a fair share of
wickets with these balls ; but even in his case we think that
it is generally not so much the difference in the distance that

BOWLING. 135

the ball has to travel which causes disaster to the batsman, as
the latter's anxiety and impatience to score from slow wide off
balls, which look so easy and are really so deadly. However,
though our opinion of this bowler's ' dodge ' is not particularly
high, we still think it is worthy of trial at times by every slow
bowler. A slow bowler should try every wile that can pos-
sibly be attempted ; by adopting slow bowling he has under-
taken to use the * wisdom of the serpent ' in the guise of the
1 harmlessness of the dove,' and has sacrificed pace to cunning
and thought. No slow bowler is worth his salt who merely tosses
the ball into the air and trusts to chance for success, even if it
has a little spin on it ; he must continually think and diagnose
every particular case which comes before him, and then adopt the
measures necessary for each one. With this object it is the duty
of every slow bowler to take advantage of any local peculiarity
which the size and situation of the ground may afford. He
should almost always have the choice of ends, except on oc-
casions when the captain of the side considers that for some
reason his fast bowler is more likely to get rid of the batting side
for a small score than the slow, and then, of course, the fast
must have the choice.

For example, in the University matches from 1878 to 1881,
Oxford was so overmatched by Cambridge that in each of
these years before the play began it was considered by the
outside public as a foregone conclusion for the latter. The
really knowing ones, however, who thoroughly understood the
game, were aware that there was one man on the Oxford side
who might any day get rid of the best side in England for a
very small score. That man was Mr. Evans, the famous fast
bowler. He was the only man on the side who, humanly
speaking, seemed capable of turning the chances of the game.
He consequently chose his own particular end — the one he
thought most suited to his style, quite irrespective of any
mediocre slow bowler that was on his side ; and the havoc he
played amongst the Cambridge wickets for those four years
may be seen from the old scores. It is, however, an exception

136 CRICKET.

when a side depends almost entirely on its fast bowling, and it
is only when this exception arises that a slow bowler (assuming
him to be one who is competent to judge) must not have his
choice of ends. Of course we mean his choice of ends at the
commencement of an innings, as after that it is the captain's
duty to put any bowler on at either end, and it is the duty of
every bowler to obey his captain cheerfully.

As already remarked, every slow bowler should take
advantage of every local peculiarity that may offer itself.
For instance, there may be a ground where a high tree is behind
one of the wickets ; the slow bowler, if he thinks this tree
will help him at all, should take his measures acordingly. We
hope none will think we are advocating anything at all unfair
in the game, or anything that is even on the line between fair-
ness and ■ not quite straight.' As a rifle-shooter takes advantage
of a lull in the wind to pull his trigger, as a deerstalker of every
rock and unevenness of ground to approach his game — in short,
just as in every kind of sport natural facilities may be utilised
— so in bowling every peculiarity of time and place should be
enlisted on the side of the bowler in his (in these days of good
wickets and good batting) by no means easy task of getting rid
of the batsman. If a bowler, who, we will say, usually bowls
over the wicket, perceive that by bowling round the wicket he
may make his bowling more difficult to see, and consequently
more effective, on account of a tree, house, or hedge that is
directly behind that side of the wicket, he should most cer-
tainly change and make the most of that advantage. An in-
judicious and talkative batsman often materially assists a bowler
by such remarks as, ' I can't see your bowling a little bit. When
tossed high in the air that beastly tree is right behind ; ' or,
1 When you bowl over the wicket the ball gets right in a line
with the dark windows of the pavilion, and I can't see it at all.'
Can anyone imagine for a moment that a bowler will not do his
very best instantly to make the most of the dark branches of
the tree or the windows of the pavilion ? The sun, too, often
materially assists a slow bowler, especially during the last hour

BOWLING. 137

or hour and a half of the day's play. If there are any trees
round the ground, the shadows, beginning to lengthen, will often
lie right across the pitch, and if there is one anywhere near
where a good-length ball should pitch, it is advisable to try
pitching one occasionally on it. If the sun is behind the
bowler's wicket and getting a little low, the bowler should try
by bowling high slow ones to get it in the line of the batsman's
vision. Every possible advantage within the limits and spirit
of fair play may be considered legitimate for a bowler. Local
advantages of ground and weather are certainly within these
limits, but any peculiarity of dress or tricks of manner, which
are in themselves calculated to baulk or annoy a batsman, are
not.

For example, bowling with a long loose and flapping sleeve
in order to distract the batsman's attention from the ball, a
habit which of late has been seen on our English grounds, is
in itself intrinsically unfair and unworthy of any true cricketer.
And again, waving the arms behind the ball after it has been
delivered, or any other trick adopted in order to worry or harass
the batsman, is manifestly unfair. Some batsmen are extremely
fastidious, and are distracted by the merest trifle. The writer
remembers on one occasion taking part in a match when a
batsman objected to a bowler on the ground that he was
wearing a stud made of some bright material or stone, which
glistened so in the sun that it diverted his attention from the
ball. This, of course, sounded absurd, but the bowler at once
removed the glittering nuisance, and rightly too.

A slow bowler must bear in mind what has before been
mentioned, viz. that it is often almost as good as a change of
bowling to change from over, to round the wicket, or vice versa,
quite apart from the advantage he may gain from any local ob-
struction to good light. Supposing a slow bowler has been ' on '
for some time over the wicket, as a rule the great majority of his
balls have been pitched a few inches outside the off stump and
breaking in to the middle or middle and leg. The batsman
bas got thoroughly into the way of playing this particular ball,

138 CRICKET.

and does not show any signs of making a mistake. The bowler
goes round the wicket, and although he still continues to pitch
a little outside the off stump, the ball is quite different now from
what it was from over the wicket. It is, of course, impossible
to get as much ' break -back ' spin on to the ball when bowling
round as over the wicket, because the ball is delivered several
feet from a straight line between the two wickets, but in most
conditions of the ground it is possible to get a certain amount
on. The change in the direction of the ball, or rather in the
spot from which it is delivered, combined with the diminution
in the amount of break, makes it often a most effective change
and one well worth the trial. In addition there is always from
round the wicket the chance of a batsman playing inside a ball
which, delivered without any spin at all, keeps going across the
wicket, as it is technically called, * with the arm.'

We cannot omit, when enumerating the different balls of
which a slow bowler may avail himself, one which is by no means
used as often as it should be, viz. the full-pitch. In slow bowl-
ing there are three different kinds of full-pitches — the high-
dropping full-pitch, which will pitch either on the top of the
wicket or a few inches before it; the ordinary slow full-pitch,
which reaches the batsman about the height of his knees ; and
the medium-paced full-pitch, which will hit the stumps nearly
at the top. The high-dropping full-pitch is a ball that is
seldom used, the reason for its rarity probably being the ex-
treme difficulty of bowling it accurately and the certain punish-
ment it will meet with if it falls at all short either in height
or length of what it should be. It should be delivered as high
as possible ; there is no limit to the height this ball may go
in the air, as the higher it ascends the more difficult it is to
play. It should be bowled so that it reaches its highest point
when it is almost directly over the head of the batsman, and
should pitch on the very top of the stumps. It is strange
that this ball is not more often practised by slow bowlers, as,
especially to the pokey, nervous style of batsmen, it is fraught
with considerable uneasiness and requires some skill to play

BOWLING.

139

properly. To really first-class punishing batsmen it is a ball
which has comparatively no terrors, and on which not much
reliance can be placed, though it should always, in our opinion,
be tried at least once to every batsman who is getting ' well
set.' But to the poker, the man who refuses to do anything

A pokey batsman dealing with a high-dropping full-pitch.

but stick his bat in front of the wicket, who lets half-volleys,
full-pitches, and long-hops pass unscathed and unplayed on both
sides of him — to him who considers he is doing his side good
service by wasting three hours of valuable time "for a dozen
runs on his side of the balance, and three hours' wear and tear
of the wicket on the other — to him who helps so greatly to

140 CRICKET.

fill up the records of drawn matches, the high-dropping full-
pitch is an excellent ball. He does not know what to do
with it ; he is afraid to step back to play it for fear of hitting
his wicket, and he hardly likes to be so bold as to try to cut
or hit it on the on side. One of the most amusing sights we
have ever seen at cricket was one of these batsmen having
ball after ball of this sort bowled to him ; it was not till after
he had nearly lost his wicket a dozen times, only keeping it by
exceptional good luck, and had afforded the greatest merriment
to players and spectators alike, that he burst out from sheer
desperation into wild and furious hitting— a line of conduct
which had the immediate effect of compelling the bowler to
desist from his lofty attacks.

The second kind of full-pitch — the one reaching the bats-
man about the height of his knees— is the most usual of full-
pitches, and enjoys the distinction of being considered the
easiest of all balls to hit. A good batsman can hit this ball
from a slow bowler to almost any part of the field ; conse-
quently, though it often happens in the chapter of accidents
that a wicket falls to this ball — a catch in the country per-
haps, or a hard catch and bowl — it is of all balls the very worst
for a slow bowler to deliver, except perhaps a long hop.

The third kind— the medium-paced full-pitch straight to
the top of the stumps — is occasionally, for a slow bowler, a
very useful ball. In the first place, it is not quite so easy to
hit as it appears to the batsman ; the change in pace from slow
to medium often causes him to hit a trifle slower than he
should do, when the ball, coming on faster than expected, hit*
the top or splice of the bat, and goes straight up in the air.
This ball is generally more successful with players who have
a partiality for on-side hitting than with others, as it is never
a difficult one to play quietly ; it is only when the batsman
tries to hit that it becomes likely to get a wicket. It is also
useful when a hitter, by running out and hitting every ball,
is demoralising bowler, fielders, and the whole side. If the
bowler sees the intention of the hitter to run out before the ball

BOWLING. 141

is delivered — and he is often able to do this — he can do nothing
better than bowl a good medium-paced full-pitch straight at
the top of the middle stump j if the batsman goes on with his
intention of running out, he is not only apt to overrun this
faster than usual ball, and let it pass over the top of his bat,
but if he does hit it he is likely to send it high in the air, from
the above-mentioned cause of catching it with the top or splice
of the bat. There is, however, nothing so flurrying to abowlei
as a batsman who runs out to every ball, and who evinces
his intention of doing so before the ball is delivered. The
writer has often talked with old cricketers on this subject, and
they have remarked how well the old bowlers of their early
days used to keep their heads under these trying circumstances.
Doubtless they deserve the very greatest credit for doing so,
for there is nothing so trying to a bowler ; it spoils his pitch,
and is rather apt to do the same to his temper. The regular
attendant at matches may have seen almost every bowler of
reputation in England so thoroughly flurried and upset by a
batsman doing this, that, in spite of all efforts to keep cool, the
bowling was simply paralysed and rendered useless to the side
for the time being. The best courses for a slow bowler to pur-
sue on these occasions is, 1st, to bowl the sort of full-pitch just
discussed ; and, 2nd, to increase his pace a little, and bowl a little
short of a good length, about a foot or more outside the legs
of the batsman. There is nothing a rushing-out batsman finds
so hard to hit as a ball well outside his legs.

Widish off balls are also useful, as a batsman going down
the wicket is not only apt to miss, but also, if he can reach,
to sky them. A high full-pitch into the hands of the wicket-
keeper is likewise sometimes successful ; but, though we may lay
down certain rules and suggestions as to what is best for a
bowler to do at this very trying time, we are afraid that, unless
he is able to keep exceptionally cool, they will be of no prac-
tical assistance.

The variableness ot the English climate plays a very im-
portant part in the success or otherwise of slow bowlers. A

i 4 2 CRICKET.

shower of rain in the night often has the effect of making parti-
cularly deadly a slow bowler who, the day before, on a hard
and fast ground, was comparatively harmless and ineffective.
Up to 1884 the disadvantage of a rainfall in the night to a
side that had begun but not finished its innings was increased
by the rule forbidding the ground to be rolled except before
the commencement of each innings. Rain in the night not
only softens the ground, but brings up to the surface numbers
of worms, which cover the pitch with little heaps of earth
mould. These little heaps, in the absence of any rolling,
made the ground bumpy and treacherous, and consequently
entailed serious discomfiture to the batting side. The only
plausible argument ever advanced for this injustice was that it
might happen to either side, and was one of the chances of the
game. However, the M.C.C. wisely decided, though not till
quite recently, that this rule should be abolished, the reason
for the decision being that the side which won the toss had a
great advantage as it was, from having the first and best of the
wicket, and that, as the other side was usually batting at the
end of the day, it gave the men an extra and unfair disadvan-
tage in having the wicket spoilt by rain and worms without the
chance of having it rolled. No rule, however, can affect the
drawback under which a batting side is placed whose wicket
is softened by a heavy rainfall in the night. The roller may level
the worm moulds, but it cannot alter the slow, sticky state of
the ground ; in fact, it often brings up more water, and makes
the pitch still more sticky and slow. It is on occasions such
as these that slow bowlers meet with their greatest success. So
frequently during the course of the season do these soft wickets
occur, even in what are called our hot summers, that it is part
of the science of bowling to know how to turn such grounds
to the best advantage. The different states of the ground
caused by the weather may be roughly, and for all practical
purposes, divided into five : 1st, the hard and dry state ; 2nd,
the hard state, with the grass wet ; 3rd, the very soft and slow
state, (a) with the grass dry, (b) with the grass wet ; 4th, the

BOWLING. 143

drying state, when it has been very slow and soft, but is gradu-
ally drying under the influence of a hot sun or wind ; 5th, the
hard and crumbled state. The hard and dry state calls for no
comment, as everything written on the subject of bowling, un-
less otherwise specified, refers to the ground in this condition.
The hard state, with the grass wet, is perhaps the most trying
time for a slow bowler. He has to bowl with a wet ball, which
he has great difficulty in holding ; he cannot get on the slightest
degree of twist, as the wet ball slips off the wet grass directly
it pitches, allowing no time for the ball to ■ bite ' the ground
and take the twist. A good batsman on these wickets knows
that all he has to do is to play forward with a straight bat
when the ball is anything like a good one, and he is bound to
meet it. The slippery ball flies off the bat like lightning, and
travels, if the grass is short and not too thick, over the hard
ground faster than it does when the grass is dry. Every now
and then a ball may be inclined to keep low or shoot ; but a
shooter does not possess the same terrors on a wet as on a dry
ground, because in almost every instance it can be played
forward to, and a good batsman in playing forward always
keeps his bat low enough to stop shooters (especially on wet
wickets) until he actually sees the ball rise.

The only course for a slow bowler to adopt on these wickets
is to bowl as good a length as he can, and as straight as
possible. He should also bear in mind that the ball leaves the
ground far more quickly than usual in its wet, slippery state,
and that, consequently, the most likely place in the field to
capture a batsman is short-slip. Easy as the ground is for a
batsman when once he gets the pace of it, it often happens
that at first he is surprised at the great pace from the pitch,
plays back instead of forward, and places the ball in the slips.
It is a golden rule for every bowler, slow and fast, on these
wickets to have short-slip ' finer ' than on ordinary occasions,
and a trifle further back. It is often advisable to have an
extra man standing about three yards squarer than the regular
short-slip, but no farther from the wicket. Two quick active

144 CRICKET.

men, who are capable at times of bringing off smart one-hand
catches, should be chosen for these places. They are by far
the most likely men in the field to dismiss good batsmen on
wet hard wickets ; in fact, it is often difficult to see how two
such batsmen are to be separated on these occasions except
by a catch at one of these places, or at the wicket. A bowler
should with this object keep bowling a good length on the
off stump and just outside it, recollecting that good-length balls
must pitch considerably shorter than usual on these very quick
wickets.

The very soft and slow state is the result of heavy rain
which has left the surface of the pitch dry, but the ground itself
thoroughly sodden. This condition of the ground is popularly
supposed to favour a slow bowler. How often, on coming on
to the ground to inspect the wicket after a night's rain, is he
accosted something in this style : ' Well, Jack, this ought to
suit you ; those twisters of yours will want some watching to-
day ! ' Jack, after looking at the pitch, which is as soft and
sodden as a piece of dough, knows full well that it will be a
long time before the ground gets back enough of its half-
drowned life to help him in the slightest degree. There is no
poorer fun for a slow bowler than having to bowl on these
utterly lifeless wickets. On a hard true ground, though it may
be favourable to the batsman, he has good sport in trying every
dodge he can think of ; he fishes and feeds and angles as warily
as Izaak Walton himself ; the ground and ball are full of life
and go, and very often, unfortunately for the bowler, the bats-
man too. On wet hard wickets, when he can get no twist on,
there is still life and pace in the ground ; but in the sodden
dead state, directly the ball touches the ground it sinks in,
loses all life and pace, and comes on to the batsman like what
a Yorkshire professional was once heard to call a 'diseased
lawn-tennis, ball.' There is no greater fallacy at cricket than
to suppose that a sodden wicket is an advantage to a slow
bowler. The time when it begins to assist him is when the
surface is ' caking ' under the influence of the sun or a drying
wind ; and then it is that, as we said above, the greatest sue-

BOWLING. 145

cesses of slow bowlers are met with. A slow bowler having to
bowl on a sodden wicket perceives at once that it is extremely
difficult for him to bowl to a good batsman a * good-length '
ball for the following reasons : —

What is called a ' good-length ' ball on ordinary occasions
remains on the ground so long and comes off the pitch so slow
that a batsman, if \\e is so minded, can with ease play it back
— i.e. he can see it coming on from the pitch in time for him
to get back and play it as a simple ' long-hop.' Anything short
of this will all the more be capable of being played as a ' long-
hop.' If the ball is pitched farther than a good length, it
becomes at once — certainly to batsmen quick on their legs —
a half-volley. Thus, if a batsman really gets the time of the
ground, he has only to play these two simplest of balls. No
amount of spin will help the bowler ; the ball in the soft ground
may twist at right angles, but it does it so slowly that the bats-
man has ample time to defend his wicket. In these circum-
stances there is only one thing for a slow bowler to do, and
that is to bowl faster and endeavour, by giving extra pace to
the ball, to make it come off the ground quicker. There are
some batsmen whom, on these sodden wickets, it is almost im-
possible to get rid of. They remain for hours, perfectly con-
tented if a whole day is taken up with their innings and forty
runs added to the total, the chances of a draw being thereby
greatly augmented. A famous professional stick, on one occa-
sion, remained at the wickets when the ground was sodden for
one hour and fifty minutes before troubling the scorer ; he was
then so flustered by the jeering of the mob that he rushed out,
hit a catch, was missed, and, amidst as much cheering as if he
had wanted one run to complete his hundred, broke his duck's-
egg. Louis Hall, of Yorkshire, was a desperate man to bowl
to on these grounds ; every ball that was bowled he either played
back or smothered. Nothing in cricket could be more dull
or dismal than bowling to this batsman on a sodden wicket at
Bramall Lane Ground in a real Sheffield fog. A Bannerman,
the Australian batsman, is another terrible hard nut for a bowler
to crack on these sodden wickets.

146 CRICKET.

Although, as has been said, slow bowlers are not assisted by
the ground when in this condition, and it is extremely difficult
to bowl anything approaching a good ball to a good batsman,
there are some batsmen, and real good ones too on a hard true
ground, who are utterly unable to adapt their style of play to a
slow ground, or rather never can realise that a ball pitched into
a lump of dough will leave it much slower than when pitched
on to a stone. These batsmen, if they kept their keenness of
eye and activity till they were a hundred, would still be seen
playing a quick forward stroke on the sodden ground, sending
the ball up in the air in every direction. A batsman who per-
sists in playing forward on a dead wicket and finishing his
stroke as he would do on a fast wicket is certain not to last
long. It is very curious to notice how sometimes nearly a
whole batting side will make a mistake about the condition of
the wicket. The first batsmen see the ground slow and the
ball twisting a good deal, and begin playing as they would do
on a faster wicket, viz. playing forward to the pitch instead of
waiting and playing a back game. Four or five batsmen will
follow, play in the same style, and lose their wickets, generally
bowled, or caught and bowled. Some batsman will then come
in who at once finds out what the slow bowlers have long since
known — that it is a slow easy wicket he has to bat on, and
not a ' caked/ ■ kicky ' one. What happens ? He plays every
ball back except those that he hits, and he hits everything
except a long-hop, because he can get to the pitch of anything
else. The slow bowlers who have been doing the mischief are
soon knocked off, and his side, in spite of the failure of its four
or five most competent batsmen, makes a good score. On one
occasion in a first-class match the first seven wickets fell for
fifty runs, the wicket being deadly slow and dull ; the eighth
man came in, and, by dint of playing back and hitting and a
little luck, made over a hundred in about an hour and a half,
being fortunate enough to have some one to stick in with him
at the other end.

When the ground is very soft and the grass wet, the bowler

BOWLING. 147

is in about the same position as when the grass is wet on a
hard wicket ; he has to bowl with a wet slippery ball, and can-
not get any twist at all upon it. This is called the ■ cutting
through ' state, which means that, the ball being slippery and
the ground and grass wet, it cuts through the surface of the
pitch, taking with it a small piece of wet sticky turf. As in
the hard state with wet grass, short-slip is an important place
and likely to get chances. Although the ground when in this
condition is in favour of the batsman, cricket is miserable under
such circumstances, and is enjoyed neither by batsman, bowler,
nor fielders. The batsman cannot stand on the slippery mud ;
the bowler, with wet dirty hands, and boots and trousers
bespattered with slush, is utterly unable to do anything with
the slimy ball ; and the fieldsmen can neither hold nor stop it.
The ground is covered with sawdust, without the use of which
it would be impossible for the bowler to grasp the ball firmly,
and altogether the whole scene is so unlike cricket, essentially
a fine-weather game, that it always seems a pity under such
conditions to go on playing.

The drying state, when the ground has been very soft and
sodden, but is gradually drying and caking on the surface under
the influence of a hot sun or wind, is the time when slow bowlers
have it all their own way. It is on this condition of ground
that in former days bowlers like Alfred Shaw, and Peate, of
Yorkshire, and in present times Tyler, Briggs, and Wainwright,
have so often astonished the cricket community with wondeful
analyses. When the ground has got into this state, it will often
remain so for several hours. At Lord's, when the ground after
being soft has become caked on the top, it is no unusual occur-
rence to see thirty good wickets or more fall in the course of
the day. When a side, no matter how many really good bats-
men it may number, has to go in on ' caked * wickets against
good bowling, they may think themselves lucky if they get 100
runs. The ball takes almost as much twist as a bowler wants
to put on ; it comes off the ground at different paces, one part
of the pitch being a trifle drier and harder than another. The
first ball of the over will perhaps get up almost straight and

l 2

i 4 8 CRICKET.

very quickly from the pitch as a batsman is playing it ; the
next pitches a trifle shorter, may stop in the ground, and ' get
up and look at you,' as it is called, making correct play an im-
possibility. Or perhaps one ball will get up very quickly and
high, and hit the batsman on the arm or side, and the next r
pitched in almost the same spot, will leave the pitch equally
quickly, but never rise more than an inch from the ground.
It is no recommendation to a bowler to be able to get wickets
on such grounds as these ; any bad bowler might bowl a good
batting side out for a small score with such assistance. The
only way a batsman can reasonably hope to add any notches
to the score of his side is to grasp the situation at once, throw
careful correct play to the winds, and hit, pull, and slog in
every direction where he thinks he can get rid of the teasing
ball. The Australian eleven of 1882 were particularly good
on this class of wicket ; they had four men — Giffen, Bonnor,
McDonnell, Massie — who, rarely needing much inducement to
hit, used to launch out most vigorously and successfully on
these occasions, often cracking up twenty or thirty runs in about
half the number of minutes, and securing victory for their side.
Although very badly caked wickets are not uncommon,
perhaps the best for bowling and the worst for batting in
modern experience was at the Oval during the last innings
of the England v. Australia match, in 1882. It is the only
disastrous match for England in the whole list of national
fixtures that have been played in this country. It may be
remembered that England, having only a few runs to get to win,
nearly made them for the first two wickets, Grace and Ulyett
both making about twenty. The ground at this time was dry-
ing and becoming every minute more difficult, and the way in
which our English wickets were mowed down by Spofforth is
now a matter of cricket history, too well known to repeat.
Spofforth was bowling rather more than medium pace, bringing
the ball back a foot or more very quickly from the pitch,
sometimes kicking to the height of the batsman's head, and at
others shooting. Some of our cricket reporters talked in an
airy manner about the ' funk ' of the English team on that

BOWLING. 149

occasion, but the charge was wholly without foundation. A
batsman's consciousness that twenty thousand spectators were
watching each ball with breathless interest, and that on his
own individual efforts depended the reputation of English
•cricket, that the bowling was about as good and the ground
as bad as any cricketer had ever seen, might, and probably
did, cause a feeling of intense anxiety in the minds of each
of the English players who failed in his efforts to win victory
for his side ; but to say that their efforts were paralysed, or
that any one of them was unnerved by what is popularly called
' funk,' is certainly unjust to the well-tried cricketers who did
battle for England on that memorable and disastrous occasion.

The hard and crumbled wicket is perhaps almost more
difficult for batsmen than when it is caked. The ball will
twist a great deal on this class of wicket, and does it very
quickly. It is also inclined both to ' pop ' and keep» low.
Spofforth and Turner of the Australian bowlers, and Peel,
Briggs, and Attewell of the English ones, are all most deadly
bowlers on such a wicket as this.

Some of our most successful slow bowlers have been left-
handed. The peculiarity and difficulty about left-hand bowling
is that the natural spin imparted to the ball by a left-handed
bowler is the off-spin, which, of course, makes the ball after the
pitch twist from the leg side of the right-handed batsman to the
off. This, as we have mentioned above, is the most difficult twist
for a batsman to play, as an off break is more easy to watch after
the pitch than a leg-break. The leg-break which a batsman
has to meet from a right-handed bowler is not so difficult to play
as that from a left-hander ; because, first, the latter is usually
faster than the former, and, secondly, it is much more disguised.
The right-hand leg-break is impossible without getting the ball
in the centre of the hand and screwing the hand round just
as if it were twisting a corkscrew the reverse way — an action
which at once prepares the batsman for the leg twist. Thirdly,
because it usually twists very much less than the right-hand leg-
break. It is not the ball which twists the most that gets the
wickets ; it is the ball that just twists enough to beat the bat.

150 CRICKET.

The mode of attack generally adopted by a slow left hander
is to place all his men, with the exception of a short-leg and a
deep mid-on, on the off side. He then proceeds to bowl on
the off stump and outside it, making the ball go away from the
batsman to the off as much as possible after the pitch. Great
care has to be taken by the batsman, as the slighest mistake
in hitting or forward play will give a catch to one of the nume-
rous traps laid all round on the off side. It is the object of
the bowler to get the batsman either to hit at a ball which is
not quite far enough to be smothered, or to reach out and play
forward at one which is a little beyond his reach. A favourite
device of the left-handed bowler is to get the batsman to hit at
widish ones on the off side, a stroke that must cause an uppish
hit somewhere, as it is impossible for a batsman to smother a ball
that is a trifle out of his reach. It is often a good thing for a left-
handed bowler to send down a ball without any twist on it at all,
especially if he is bowling on a wicket where he is able to ' do '
a good deal. The ball without any spin on it should pitch on
the middle and off stumps ; and if the bowler is bowling from
round the wicket, as left-handers usually do, it will then come
on in a line with the pitch and the hand at the moment of
delivery, and if not stopped by the bat, take the leg-stump.
This slow ball that comes with the arm in the middle of others
going the other way is very successful. Slow left-handed bowlers
often have their tempers sorely tried by a class of batsmen that
were discussed in a previous portion of this chapter, namely,
those who are so frightened of getting out that they will never
play at an off ball, long-hop, half-volley, or good-length.
There are many enticing balls bowled by left-handed bowlers
that ought to be left alone by every batsman, notably those
that pitch too wide to enable them to be played forward and
smothered. There is no greater or more successful trap for
tfiid young players than these widish off balls. But it is in-
deed a trying time for the bowler when he keeps pitching just
outside trie off stump, and is not even played at by the bats-
man. Bowlers should, in these circumstances, bowl ball after
ball on the off stump and just outside it. It is by no means an

BOWLING.

151

uncommon occurrence to see these punishing batsmen taken
in by a ball that comes in a little with the arm, and removes
the bail while they are striking an attitude, bat over shoulder.

We have had some excellent left-handed bowlers in England,
and there can be no doubt that every team should possess one
of this sort if possible. Peate for some years enjoyed the repu-
tation of being the best left-hander in England, and rightly so.
He was an exceptional good length, difficult to see, and had a
lot of work on. Some of his performances against the Austra-
lians are truly wonderful. When Peate first began to play
cricket he was a very fast, high-actioned bowler, and the writer
remembers finding him on the slow sticky wicket of the Car-
lisle ground very nasty to play. He subsequently altered his
pace to slow, and it is a remarkable fact that after this altera-
tion he completely lost the power of sending down a really fast
ball. Another of our great slow left-handed bowlers was David
Buchanan, and, strangely enough, he too was in his early days a
fast bowler. As one of the slow school he is best known, and
we have no doubt that he at the present moment has taken
nearly twice as many wickets in the course of his career as any
other living cricketer. His bowling was celebrated for the great
amount of work he got on to the ball ; unless the batsman was
on the pitch of it, a mistake was certain. The only team that
ever seemed to enjoy Buchanan's bowling was the Rugby boys,
and constant practice had robbed it of all terrors for them.

It is a doubtful point amongst cricketers whether Peel of
Yorkshire or Briggs of Lancashire was the best left-handed
slow to medium bowler. In the writer's opinion Peel was the
best. He bowled perhaps a slightly better length than Briggs,
and as he had a more difficult action to see, was not so
easily hit by a resolute batsman as. Briggs. They were both,
however, excellent bowlers, but both are now a little past their
prime. Briggs possesses a marvellous strength of wrist and
fingers, which give him great power of twist and pace. His
very fast ball is nearly as good as that of Palmer, the Australian.
One of his best performances was in England v. Australia at
Lord's in 1886. None of the English bowlers on this occasion

,52 CRICKET.

could do much with the ball except Briggs. There is one
Australian left-handed bowler who we regret has never been
seen on English cricket grounds — Tom Kendall. In 1878,
when the first colonial team visited this country, great ac-
counts of Kendall's prowess with the ball had reached us. His
name was included in the list of the players whom we were
led to expect, but for some reason or other, though he did
actually start with the team, he left it at Adelaide or at some
other port at which the ship touched. The writer saw him
and played against him in 1882 in Tasmania, and, though
getting on in years and rather on the big side for bowling, he
was about as nasty a left-hander as any batsman could wish to
play. He had a high action, changed his pace well, from slow to
medium, and then to very fast, had lots of work both ways on
his slow and medium balls, and the very fast ones went with
the arm. When the writer saw him his length was not as
good as it might have been, or, from all accounts, as it once
was. His action reminded us rather of that excellent bowler
J. C. Shaw, in his day the best left-hander in England.

In the first Australian team that visited this country, in 1878,
there was another left-handed slow bowler named Allan, about
whom the Australians themselves spread most extraordinary
statements. It was said that Allan, 'the bowler of the cen-
tury,' as he was called in Australia, possessed some of the most
remarkable qualities. Rumour declared his spin off the ground
was so great that the slowest ball came off up to the bat at ten
times greater speed than it had travelled to the pitch ; that he
could twist either way, to almost any degree, at will, and that
his bowling had a most remarkable curve in the air, which ren-
dered it most deadly. This left-handed bowler is mentioned be-
cause, though his powers of bowling had, of course, been greatly
exaggerated, it was certainly most puzzling. He met with some
considerable success at the outset of the tour ; but subsequently
his health gave way before the wearing work of cricket every
day, and he was unable to bowl at all. His bowling had a
considerable amount of spin, but what was the most extra-
ordinary thing connected with it was the inward curl in the air

BOWLING. 153

towards the body of the batsman, and then, after the pitch, the
outward twist of the ball. A ball that goes one way in the air,
and another after the pitch, is calculated to try the mettle of the
best batsman. It is a subject for regret that Allan, through in-
creasing years and his consequent inability to stand hard work,
has not accompanied any of the later teams, as his bowling
was so very different from anything we have ever seen at home.

Does bowling curl or twist in the air ? is a question we have
often been asked, and we have frequently heard disputes, by
men who possessed some considerable knowledge of the game,
as to whether it was possible for balls to travel thus or not. It
seems almost incredible that men who have over and over again
handled the bat should doubt the tendency of some kinds of
bowling to twist or curl in the air. Nearly all leg-break slow
bowlers curl inwards towards the batsman before the pitch,
and no one who has ever played against W. G. Grace's bqwling
can doubt that the real secret of his success as a bowler has
been in the peculiar flight his action gives the ball, causing it
to curl before it pitches.

However, the question as to balls turning in the air has
been definitely settled by the American base-ball players. In
this game the pitcher throws one full-pitch after another to the
batsman, and even if the latter happen to be one of the best
and most experienced in the game he misses a considerable
proportion of these full-pitches. And why? because of the
twist or curl in the air which the pitcher imparts to the ball.
A very interesting account is given by Mr. R. A. Proctor in
'Longman's Magazine ' for June 1887 of a well-known English
■cricketer's failure to strike the full-pitches of one of the best
American pitchers. Time after time the bat struck the air and
nothing else ; and this was simply owing to the curl the pitchei
put on the ball. Mr. Proctor scientifically explains the curl in
the air, and it may be of interest to insert a short extract from
his article : —

When a ball (or in fact any missile) is advancing rapidly
through the air, there is formed in front of it a small aggregation
of compressed air. (In passing we may remark that the compressed

154 CRICKET.

air in front of an advancing cannon ball has been rendered dis-
cernible — we can hardly say visible — by instantaneous photography.)
In shape the cushion of air is conical or rather conoidal, if the ball
is advancing without spin ; and theiefore it resists the progress of
the ball equally on all sides, and only affects the ball's velocity.
The same is the case if the ball is spinning on an axis lying along
its course. But in the case we have to consider, where the ball is
spinning on an axis square to its course, the cushion of compressed
air formed by the advancing ball has no longer this symmetrical
shape. On the advancing side of the spinning surface the air
cannot escape so readily as it would if there were no spin ; on the
other side it escapes more readily than it would but for the spin.
Hence the cushion of air is thrown towards that side of the ball
where the spin is forwards and removed from the other side. The
same thing then must happen as were a ball encounters a cushion
aslant. A ball driven squarely against a very soft cushion plunges
straight into it, turning neither to the right nor to the left, or if
deflected at all (as against a billiard cushion) comes straight back
on its course ; but if driven aslant against the cushion, it is deflected
from the region of resistance. So with the base ball. As the
cushion of air against which it is advancing is not opposed squarely
to it, but is stronger on one side than on the other, the ball is
deflected from the region of greatest resistance.

There is one style of slow bowling that has of late years
almost completely vanished from first-class cricket : we refer to
under-hand slows. When Ridley left off bowling lobs, about
twelve years ago, nobody except Humphreys attempted to
bowl lobs, but in 1897 Jephson, of Surrey, has introduced
them again with some success, and we hope he will prosper.
As under- hand was at one time the only bowling that was
allowed by the rules of cricket, and as it met with a great
amount of success, even after the raising of the arm was
permitted, it will be as well to refer to the cause that has
brought about its practical abolition. This is owing to the
increasing popularity of the game, and the consequent great
increase in the number of good batsmen. The greatest under-
hand bowler that ever played was probably William Clarke,
whose merits have been so often discussed in cricket writings
that it is unnecessary to repeat them here. In order to ascer-

BOWLING. 155

tain the style of batsmen Clarke made his great reputation
against, we must refer to some one who has seen and known
the great bowler and conversed with those who were in the
habit of playing against him. We are told that Clarke had
perfect accuracy of pitch, a quick rise from the ground, and a
good leg twist on his bowling. These attributes in an under-
arm bowler, most excellent as they are, would not nowadays,
with the present efficient state of batting, justify the name of
the possessor being placed in the first rank, because we con-
sider no amount of accuracy of pitch, twist, or anything else
can ever secure this coveted distinction to a bowler of this
kind. Mr. Pycroft gives us the information we require on
the subject of batting against Clarke's bowling. He says with
regard to Pilch, at that time the best batsman of the day, c He
played him back all day if he bowled short, and hit him hard
all along the ground whenever he over-pitched; and v some
times he would go in to Clarke's bowling, not to make a
furious swipe, but to " run him down " with a straight bat.'

Now this description of the play of a man who was able
to meet Clarke's bowling is interesting to us, because it shows
us that the way in which the great bowler was played by one of
the few who could oppose him successfully is exactly the same
method in which every good batsmen of the present time does
play under-hand bowling. If any man of to-day, chosen to take
part in the Gentlemen v. Players match as a batsman, were to
endeavour to play under-hand bowling in any other manner,
he would be laughed at as being devoid of the most elementary
rules of the game. Mr. Pycroft goes on to tell us the way
which many did adopt in playing Clarke. He says, ' This
going in to Clarke's bowling some persons thought necessary
for every ball, forgetting that discretion is the better part
of cricket ; the consequence was that many wickets fell from
positive long-hops.' This description shows that a great number
of those who fell victims to Clarke's bowling were absolutely
uninitiated in the first principles of playing slows, viz. never to
hit except on the volley, or just as the ball pitches. Nowadays

156 CRICKET.

■every batsman — at any rate all who play in first-class cricket —
knows the danger of playing wildly at under-hand ' lobs,' as they
are called. Occasional mistakes are made, no doubt, when
an unexpected lob bowler appears, but more from wildness
and anxiety to score than from any ignorance as to the mode
of playing such balls. The way to play lobs is exactly the
method Mr. Pycroft tells us was adopted by the great Fuller
Pilch.

Slow lobs have therefore in first-class cricket died a natural
death, and although we may expect to find a lob bowler occa-
sionally cropping up here and there, we do not think there is
much prospect of seeing an exemplar of this style who will ever
attain the rank of a first-class bowler such as that acquired by
Clarke, Mr. V. E. Walker, and Tinley. Mr. A. W. Ridley was
the last well-known amateur under- arm bowler who made a
mark in first-class cricket. His performance against Cambridge
in the now famous University match is too well known to need
record here. Humphreys of Sussex has only retired two or
three seasons, and for a long time he got a lot of wickets.
His bowling has always been useful to his county, but during
the season of 1893 it has met with extraordinary success. He
has great command over the ball and can consequently vary
its flight, pitch and break at will. Humphreys will always be
a terror to those batsmen who prefer to hit the ball in the air
Tather than along the ground, and to those who recklessly leave
•their ground and hit wildly at the pitch of the ball. J. B.
Wood of Oxford has occasionally got wickets for his University
with lobs, and helped materially to win the match v. Cambridge
in 1892 ; but he, though useful as a change, is a long way re-
moved from a good lob bowler, and, indeed, his best ball would
seem to be a straight high full pitch. Although we have stated
that lob bowling has died a natural death, and cannot ever be
expected to cope with the present state of batting, still under-
hand slows are occasionally such an excellent change that we
are sorry they are not more practised. It is not, however, won-
derful that there are so few lob bowlers who can go on at a

BOWLING. 157

pinch for a change, when we consider what has been already
said about batting having mastered the art of under-hand ; men
will not practise any art unless they have some fair prospect of
being ultimately successful, and knowing that lobs will only be
useful very occasionally and cannot attain to great success, they
will not practise them. It is a pity they do not, as over and over
again we see instances of a good wicket falling to' a poorish lob
bowler when everything else has failed. The previous remarks
about under-hands refer to first-class cricket ; against schools
and against second-class batsmen lobs have been and always
will be particularly deadly. There is something so tempting to-
an inexperienced player in seeing a ball chucked up in the air
slowly and simply, it looks so very easy to hit, so peculiarly
guileless, that a wild slog is frequently the result, too often
followed by disastrous consequences.

For this reason the captain of every school eleven should
insist on one of his team devoting himself to lob bowling ; a
little practice will enable any one to get a fairly accurate pitch,,
and twist from the leg side any boy can manage. Lob bowl-
ing thus acquired at school will often be useful in after days as
a change, even in first-class cricket. There are one or two
simple rules connected with lob bowling which everyone who-
attempts this style should master.

First. — Do not bowl too slow ; if the ball is thrown high
and slow in the air, a good batsman, quick on his legs, will have
time to reach and hit it before it pitches. Old Clarke used to
say, • It wants a certain amount of pace to make a good-length
ball with proper rise and twist.' The ball should be sent at
such speed as will oblige the batsman to play forward to it.

Secondly. — A good long run should be taken, as this gets way
and ' fire ' on to the ball, and is always more likely than a short
run to deceive the batsman as to the pitch.

Thirdly. — Generally bowl round the wicket.

Most of the remarks that we have made on slow round-
arm leg-break bowling apply to slow lobs.

Having devoted a number of pages to the subject of slow

158 CRICKET.

bowling, let us now turn to the consideration of what is almost
equally important — fast bowling ; indeed, it may be said that the
co-operation of a good fast bowler is absolutely essential if a
team wants to rank amongst the best, particularly as, if there
be one of each sort bowling at either end, the change in pace
is more likely to embarrass the batsman than if he had to
play two bowlers of the same pace. Between 1872 and 1887
there was a great dearth of good fast bowlers, at the time much
regretted and not easily accounted for. Now there is a great
improvement, and fast bowling gets much more attention paid
to it than formerly was the case.

Although ordinary fast balls are easy to play on good wickets,
however, it is but seldom that a wicket which is good at the
beginning of a match remains so to the close. The ground
wears and cuts up with the continual pitching of the ball and the
tramp of feet, and fast bowling on such occasions often becomes
most deadly. Then, again, a fast quick delivery to a new-
comer, even though the best of batsmen, may deceive him in
the pace, and, before the eye gets accustomed to the light and
the hand becomes steady, cheat him into playing back at a ball
which ought to have been met with forward play. Often have
crack batsmen been dismissed summarily by the first or second
ball coming quicker than they expected off the pitch. Murdoch,
the famous Australian batsman, was particularly apt to mistime
fast bowling on first going in, and several times has the author
seen his stumps shattered immediately by an ordinary straight
fast ball without any ' work ' at all on it. The tail end of a team
are usually victims to a good straight fast bowler, as, unless a
fast bowler is met by straight fearless forward play, he is bound
to be dangerous, and it very rarely happens that the tail end of
an ordinary team, even a county team, is capable of this. A
great deal has been said and written about young fast bowlers
bowling too fast for their strength, thus overtaxing their powers
and over-bowling themselves. It is doubtless a fact that many
young promising fast bowlers have been rendered useless by
this anxiety to get more pace on the ball than their strength

BOWLING. 159

warranted ; and there can be no better advice to a young as-
pirant for the honours of a fast bowler than that so often given,
viz. \ Bowl within your strength, or else you will over-bowl your-
self.' Although the wisdom and truth of this warning are generally
ascertained by personal experience pretty early in the career of
most fast bowlers, it is seldom, we are sorry to say, remembered
in actual practice — which remissness, we are bound to add, does
not in the least surprise us. It may possibly sound like heresy
to many old cricketers to say that in fast bowling pace is nearly
everything ; but such is our opinion. Assume that a man can
bowl straight and a good length — i.e. has a good command over
the ball — and then it may be said that the faster he bowls the
more likely he is to get wickets. And this is generally dis-
covered by young bowlers who have an aptitude for fast bowl-
ing, with the result that many c over-bowl ' themselves, strain
muscles, rick shoulders, and render themselves useless. v

The object of fast bowling is to beat the batsman by the
pace of the ball, and if this object be accomplished the ball will
either be missed or a bad stroke will be made by the batsman.
The faster the bowling the more likely it is that a batsman will
be beaten both before and after the ball leaves the ground.
Should the ball 'shoot' or 'get up,' the chances of its being
played accurately are rendered much less when the ball leaves
the ground with lightning-like speed and is almost invisible to
the eye than when it leaves it with less speed, and gives the
batsman an opportunity of seeing what is going to happen for
an appreciable moment before it reaches him. Besides, the
faster the bowling the more scope there is for the bowler to
change his pace should he be one of the few fast bowlers who
have the power of so doing with advantage. While saying that
pace is everything in a fast bowler, we do not wish for a moment
to cry down or disparage the advantages of medium-paced bowl-
ing. This style has its own characteristics, which are more
closely allied to slow bowling than to fast ; but at the same
time there are many moderately good medium-paced bowlers
now bowling with some success in first-class matches who

160 CRICKET.

would be much more deadly and successful could they add
about half as much speed again to their bowling. There are, of
course, men who, on the other hand, spoil a good style by trying
to bowl too fast— men who depend for their success on peculi-
arity in flight and the work on the ball. Every man must judge
for himself; if he possess great powers of twist combined
with accuracy, and anything peculiar or difficult to see in his
action, then let him devote himself to slow or medium-paced
bowling.

When the first edition of this work was published, first-
class cricket was almost entirely without any really fast good
bowling. Things have changed since then, and the hope that
we then expressed that a new race of good fast bowlers would
arise has been happily fulfilled. Ten years ago the only really
fast professional bowler was Ulyett of Yorkshire. He was fast,
and bumpy, and occasionally most deadly with his break-backs.
Allan Hill of the same county, with his easy and beautiful de-
livery, ' had retired owing to increasing years. There were
brilliant comets for a season or so who shone brightly and then
quickly disappeared. Harrison, likewise of Yorkshire, seemed
likely to make his mark, but after a brilliant beginning vanished
from the scene of first-class cricket. Crossland of Lancashire,
for a brief period, mowed down the County Palatine's opponents
like ninepins, but he too retired — a victim to the just cry
against unfair bowling. There was Bowley of Surrey, a very
fast and uncertain bowler, who was perhaps the best fast bowler
for a season or so, but it was a pitiful best for English cricket
to produce. Amongst the amateurs were A. Rotherham r
S. Christopherson, Whitby and C. Toppin. H. Rotherham, at
the beginning of his career, his last year at Uppingham and the
year following, was a very deadly bowler. He had a good
slow ball and a splendid yorker ; but he only lasted a very
short time. S. Christopherson was a fairly good fast bowler
at one time, but he took a good deal out of himself with his
action, and soon lost the fire and life that a fast bowler must
possess. The temporary absence of good fast bowlers during

BOWLING. i6r

some of the years between 1880 and 1888 was one of the most
remarkable facts connected with first-class cricket. It was the
more remarkable because it was only a few years before this
that nearly all the great bowlers were fast : the list included
Tarrant, Jackson, and Freeman, whose bowling used, it was said,
to hum in the air ; and after these what a harvest of fast
amateur bowlers there was — Butler, Francis, Powys, Evans,
Morton, and names too numerous to mention.

Now, we are happy to say, English cricket can once more be
proud of her array of fast bowlers. Richardson of Surrey, the
greatest in our judgment that ever lived, Mold and Cuttell of
Lancashire, Hearne and Davidson are all good fast bowlers.
Among amateurs, S. M. J. Woods was the best, but for the last
few seasons he has been handicapped by a sprain, but when at
his best he was a magnificent fast bowler with a most deceptive
slow ball ; while Jackson, Kortright, Jessop, and Cunliffe are
all far above the average.

As mentioned above, with reference to slow bowling, the
higher the hand and arm are raised at the moment of deliver-
ing the ball, the higher the ball will bound after it leaves the
pitch. A fast bowler should always bear this in mind, and
keep his hand as high as possible. It is simply a matter of
ordinary common sense that a ball which rises up high from the
pitch is more difficult for a batsman to get over and smother
than one that comes on low and skimming. A fast ball, when
it is anything like a good length, must be met with the bat, i.e.
it must be played with the forward stroke ; consequently a ball
that rises quickly from' the pitch, and is still rising when it
meets the bat, is extremely likely to rise higher still after it
leaves it, unless it is played with great care and caution.

The low skimming fast bowler is generally an easy man to
play ; the batsman, when the ground is true, can play hard
forward to almost any length of ball j there is no abrupt rise to
render an uppish stroke probable, even if he does slightly mis-
judge the pace and length of the ball. There is, of course, in
fast bowling, a much greater difficulty in getting any appreciable

M

1 62 CRICKET

twist on to the ball than in slow. The ball leaves the ground
so quickly that it is hardly in contact with it long enough to
• bite ' the turf, and so avail itself of any spin that may have
been imparted to it by tne bowler. It is to be remembered,
however, that the slightest deviation of a fast ball from its
course after it has pitched is, if a good length, most likely to
deceive the batsman. The latter is bound to play to the pitch
of the ball, as it leaves the ground so quickly as to render it
impossible for him to follow it with the eye in its course from
the ground. He plays forward with a straight bat to meet it \
should it turn an inch or two he will most likely miss it.

The off break is the one most usually attempted by fast
bowlers ; the ball is grasped firmly, generally by the seam, to
give the hand a firmer grip, and is delivered in the same way
as described for the slow off break. There have been but
few really fast bowlers who have been able consistently to
make their balls come ' back.' Every now and then, however,
for some unaccountable reason, a fast bowler finds that he is
making the ball do a lot from the off side. Perhaps his grasp
is firmer and his wrist and fingers are more powerful than on
ordinary occasions, or the ground may have more turf on it, or,
for some other reason, his bowling twists in from the pitch with
most fatal results to the batsmen.

If a fast bowler happen to be a man of strong physique,
which is usually the case, a fairly long run up to the wickets
before delivering the ball is an advantage to his bowling. This
gives more impetus to the ball, and what is popularly known as
'devil.' Spofforth, the Australian bowler, when bowling fast,
took a much longer run than when bowling medium pace. It
is also an advantage to keep the batsman waiting for the deli-
very of the ball, which happens when the bowler runs several
yards up to the wicket. For a fast bowler who intends to
change his pace from very fast to medium slow, a long run is
of great advantage, as the sight of the bowler coming up to the
wicket before the delivery of a slow ball as fast as before the
delivery of a fast one, is extremely likely to take in the bats-

BOWLING. 163

man with regard to the pace. There are not so many tricks
and dodges in the art of bowling fast as there are in bowling
slow ; the chief object to be sought is to bowl straight and good
length, and to make the ball bound. A fast bowleg when first
being put on, should remember that his muscles are probably-
stiff, and that he may not at first be able to bowl as accu-
rately and as fast as he will be when thoroughly warmed to
his work. For this reason it is always well to bowl two or
three balls to one side of the wicket before beginning. These
should be not quite at full speed, for fear of straining or ricking
a muscle not yet in full swing, but a good medium pace. It
is always best for a fast bowler to try a ball or two before
beginning, excepting in circumstances when he is called upon
to bowl to some one he has never bowled to before, and
especially so to some one who has never seen him bowl. How
often when batting have we silently chuckled with joy at seeing
a man quite unknown to us rapidly loosening his arms with two
or three balls before beginning to bowl ! It is a great thing to
have an unknown bowler on one's side, but he loses half his
value if his style and action are revealed to the batsman before
he receives the ball. In 1886 the writer was playing in a match
against the Australians, when, although things had been going
very well for the English side, the team was beginning to get
tied up into a knot owing to the steady careful way in which
Scott, the colonial captain, was defying all the efforts of our
bowlers to dislodge him. A fast bowler, who had never seen
Scott in his life before, was deputed to bowl, and was pro-
ceeding to get ready for 'two or three down' to loosen his arm,
when he was told not to mind his arm being stiff, but to bowl
the first over as fast as ever he could. The first ball sent
Scott's leg-stump flying j it was quite a simple ball, never
turned a hair's breadth either way, but the action and pace of
the bowler took him in, and this would have been very unlikely
to happen had he had an opportunity of seeing the bowler's
style.

A fast bowler must be straight to be good. This is not the

164 CRICKET.

art of one skilled in the dodges of slows ; he has to bowl
straight, and a good length too, or else the runs will come at
an enormous rate. In the present day it is usual to do with-
out a long-stop even to the fastest bowlers; this makes it
imperatively necessary for the bowler not to bowl to leg,
or, if missed by the batsman, the balls have a good chance
of flying past the wicket-keeper to the boundary for four.
Whether it is a good principle to do without long-stops, even
when the best wicket-keepers are behind the sticks, is a
doubtful point.

A fast bowler should have such command over the ball
as to be able to bowl a 'yorker' whenever he wishes, for
the fact may be repeated that a fast ' yorker ' is a most deadly
ball.

Spofforth and Palmer, the Australians, and Rotherham,
the old Uppingham bowler, Woods, and Mold were about the
best fast ' yorker ' bowlers of modern times. The ball came
from these bowlers as high as the arm would allow, and
seemed to fly like an arrow, with lightning-like rapidity,
straight to the block-hole, or a few inches inside it. A high-
action 'yorker' is more likely to deceive a batsman than a
low-action one, as in the former case the starting-point of
the ball is above the line of vision, and in the latter on a
line with or below it, which naturally makes the course and
pace of the ball more easy for the eye to judge. A very
common error into which good fast ' yorker ' bowlers fall is
not being content with trying the ball occasionally to a
batsman, and when he first comes on or when they first go
on, but persistently trying, over after over, to break down his
guard with a ball with which he is evidently quite at home,
and which presents no terrors to him. The result of this
mistake is that the balls get considerably punished, either by
being driven on the full-pitch or else on the half-volley, the
latter ball being often the result of a tired-out ' yorker ' bowler's
persistency. The writer remembers, when playing in a match
some years ago, asking W. G. Grace, who was on the same side,

BOWLING 165

what sort of a fast bowler a certain man was who was going on
to bowl. ' Oh, I'm never frightened of him ; he is always try-
ing to " york " you, and bowls any amount of half-volleys,' was
the reply, and this was soon proved to be, like most of the
champion cricketer's opinions, perfectly accurate.

A good length just outside the off stump and between the
off and middle stump is the direction that may be commended
to the bowler who bowls over the wicket, and tries to get a
little off spin on the ball. The leg-stump, in olden days, was
considered the most deadly spot for a fast bowler to aim at ;
but since every first-class batsman now stands up to his wicket,
and does not draw away an inch when the ball comes between
it and his legs, leg-stump bowling is rather expensive work.
By all means let fast bowlers lay siege to the leg-stump of in-
ferior batsmen ; but good batsmen, getting over this 1 ball, will
play it with an almost perfectly straight bat on the outside, and
tax it most unmercifully for the total of their side.

As a rule, it is better for a fast bowler to bowl over the
wicket, as by so doing he has more of the wicket to bowl at,
and has, consequently, a slightly better chance of hitting it if
the ball is missed by the batsman. He has also a greater chance
of an appeal for leg before wicket being answered in his
favour than if bowling from the other side of the wicket.
There are some fast bowlers, however, who must, from the very
nature of their action and delivery, bowl from round the wicket,
viz. those who have either a natural bias from the on to the off,
or who are able by their strength of wrist and fingers to impart
such a bias to the ball. A man who bowls from the very extent
of the crease outside the wicket, and whose bowling has natu-
rally or otherwise this leg side bias — it can hardly be called twist
in fast bowling — is a particularly awkward customer for the
batsman. There is such a constant tendency and inclination
for the ball to keep going farther away to the off side, both be-
fore and after its pitch, that the greatest care must be exercised
by the batsman to prevent himself playing inside the ball and
putting it up either to point, third man, or short-slip. A fast

1 66 CRICKET.

ball that comes in from the leg side is the most difficult ball
that has to be played, assuming its good length. There have
been very few — too few — fast right-handed bowlers who have
been able to manage this ball, but there are many instances
of left-handed men who have attained to great accuracy with
it. The late Fred Morley, of Nottingham, and Emmett, of
Yorkshire, are instances.

About thirty years ago there were numerous good fast
bowlers, who used to get the leg bias on the ball in the follow-
ing way : They bowled round the wicket, and delivered the
ball from about the height of the hip ; the backs of the fingers
were presented to the batsman before and at the moment of
delivery ; the result being that the ball had on it a slight amount
of what, in slow bowling, we have described as leg-break. This
was a useful style, and it is a pity that it has almost altogether
died out at the present day.

It is quite impossible to say with any certainty what essen-
tials are necessary in fast bowling before it can be ranked
as first-class ; so very much depends on whether the action is
easy or difficult for the batsman to see. By the word ' see ' is
meant whether the pace and pitch of the ball at the moment
of delivery can be instantly gauged by the batsman or not.
Given equal straightness, pace, and command over the ball
in every respect, the bowler who has an action which it is easy
to see cannot compare with the man who, from some peculiarity
in the movements of his body at the moment of delivery, has
an action which is not easy to see. Now, it is a very difficult
task to lay down any rules or reasons why some bowlers are
easier to see than others; but after a good deal of consideration
on this subject the writer has come to the conclusion that the
bowlers who do not present a square front to the batsman when
the ball is delivered, but who stand sideways or half turned, are,
as a rule, the most difficult to judge. The hand comes then
from behind the body, and is often not plainly seen till the
very latest moment before delivery. There may be, and no
doubt are, many mannerisms in bowlers which have their effect,

BOWLING.

167

but the above suggestion will probably be found to contain a
good sound working rule. Take Giffen, the Australian ; almost
as much of his back as his front was visible to the batsman
when he delivered the ball, and his bowling was most difficult
to see— at any rate until the batsman was thoroughly well set.

Low delivery.

Perhaps the best English batsmen have made more bad and
utterly mistimed strokes off Giffen than off any other modern
bowler. Spofforth may have bowled more men out, but Giffen
certainly was the cause of more misjudged and uppish strokes,
due, in all probability, to the fact of his bowling being so diffi-
cult to see.

1 68 • CRICKET.

The best bit of bowling the writer ever recollects playing
against was in the second innings of the Gentlemen of Eng-
land v. Australians, at Lord's in 1884. It was Giffen's day,
and a batsman had to have 'luck on his side if he succeeded
in staying in long enough to appreciate the beauty of the
bowling. Take Peate and Emmett, the two Yorkshire left-
handers, both in their day the best bowlers in England —
both these men stand sideways to the batsman when they
deliver the ball, and both are most difficult to see. Palmer, the
Australian, bowled very nearly quite square ; his bowling was
very easy to see and to judge, and the more credit is therefore
due to him for being such a successful bowler. There is no
doubt a greater difficulty in attaining to perfect length and
command over the ball w r hen the body of the bowler is not
square at the moment of delivery ; but if these essentials to
good bowling are obtained by patience and constant practice,
the bowler has this great advantage, that his balls are more
difficult for the batsman to judge accurately. It seems strange
that not one of the numerous published books on cricket has
ever suggested the advantage to the bowler which is obtained
in this way. In almost every one of these works great stress is
laid upon the necessity of the bowler presenting a full face to
the opposite wicket at the moment the ball leaves the hand. It
is doubtless easier for a beginner to bowl straight if he adopts
this style of bowling ; but if he can once gain straightness by
the other, viz. the sideways style, he has enlisted a great help to
success.

W. G. Grace is, however, an exception to this rule. He
delivers the ball perfectly square with the batsman j and yet we
suppose that to a batsman who meets him for the first time,
his bowling is about as difficult to see and to judge as that of
any bowler ever was. It is a fact that his bowling is invariably
fatal to men he has not met before. This is owing to the
hovering flight that his action imparts to the ball. The first
time the writer ever played against W. G. Grace's bowling was

BOWLING. 169

at Cambridge in 1878. and on the way to the wickets he was
greeted with the cheering cry, ' 111 get you out ; I always get
youngsters out ! ' and surely enough he did, caught and bowled
for two or thereabouts. What the champion did next morning
showed that he was as generous and kind to young cricketers
as he was skilful in the game. He took the writer to the nets
prior to the beginning of the second day's play, and saying that
youngsters required to know his bowling before being at home
with it, he proceeded to bowl for quite twenty minutes to him ;
a comprehension of his method was thus gained, and the result
was an addition to the Cambridge score of some forty odd
in the second innings. Few latter-day cricketers would do
this.

Perhaps one of the reasons why W. G. Grace is so deadly to
young cricketers is this : the batsman, seeing an enormous man
rushing up to the wickets, with both elbows out, great black
beard blowing on each side of him, and a huge yellow cap on
the top of a dark swarthy face, expects something more than
the gentle lobbed-up ball that does come ; he cannot believe
that this baby-looking bowling is really the great man's, and
gets flustered and loses his wicket. W. G. Grace is certainly
enormous, and a year or two ago at Lord's an amusing remark
might have been overheard on this subject. The England v.
Australia match was being played. W. G. walked out into the
field side by side with Briggs of Lancashire, the latter, as is
well known, being very small, perhaps hardly up to W. G.'s
elbow. A small child of about five was in the pavilion with his
father, and said, 'Father, who is that big man?' 'That's
Dr. Grace, the champion,' said the papa; and 'Who is the
little one ? ' the child continued. ' That is Briggs.' Dead
silence for a few moments, and then, 'Papa, is Briggs Dr.
Grace's baby ? '

Although power of pace, straightness, and command
over the ball are the really essential qualities of good fast
bowling— as, indeed, of all sorts— there are many occasions when

i 7 o CRICKET.

fortune smiles upon bowling which possesses none of these
good attributes. And it is for this reason, we think, that every
cricketer should be able to bowl when called upon to do so by
his captain. Every man who has played cricket has bowled at
a net, and he certainly has an action which is different from
everybody else's. As a rule, men who are not considered
regular bowlers can send the ball in somehow or other at a
fairly fast pace more or less straight, and these unknown, wild,
and erratic bowlers often succeed in getting rid of well-set bats-
men who have defied all the efforts of the recognised bowlers
of the side. There are numerous instances of a side being
deeply indebted to a bowler who never before nor afterwards
showed the slightest ability to get wickets. In Australia in
1882, when Ivo Bligh's English team was playing combined
Australia, on a certain occasion two of the best Australian bats-
men — Murdoch and Bannerman — seemed immovable. They
had been in for about an hour, and every one of the regular
English bowlers had been on and off. A suggestion was made
to try C. F. H. Leslie. Now this gentleman, with all his great
merits, was never, even in the estimation of his best friends, a
great bowler. But on he went with pleasure, as every cricketer
should when ordered. The first ball was a very fast one,
rather wide, the second ditto, but the third one — 'Ah, the
third ! ' — was a head ball, designed after the manner of Spof-
forth's best ; and it pitched on the middle of Murdoch's
middle stump! The next comer was Horan, at that time
the reputed best player of fast bowling in the Colonies. A very
fast long-hop, wide on the off side, was prettily cut straight
into Barlow's hands at third man, and Mr. Leslie had secured
two wickets for no runs. He continued for another over or
two, had Bannerman beautifully stumped by Mr. Tylecote off a
fast wide half- volley on the leg side, and then retired in favour
of one of the regular bowlers, after having, simply by wild
erratic fast delivery, lowered three of the best Australian
wickets. We give this as an example of the principle that every
cricketer should try to bowl, and if he finds that he cannot

BOWLING. 171

attain to any efficiency, even with constant practice, then let
him try to ' sling in ' as hard as ever he possibly can ; he will
often be of use to his side when in a fix.

Before leaving the subject of fast bowling a word must be
said about what — some years ago, and again now — may be
called the great cricket bugbear of the last few years— viz.
throwing. It is worthy of notice that when over-arm bowling
was first allowed a great outcry arose, and there were not
wanting those who prophesied that this 'hand over head' style
would ultimately result in * a mere over-hand throw — a kind
of pelting, with a little mannerism or flourish to disguise it.'
Now it is an astonishing thing that, in a great variety of cases,
this is just what actually has happened. Some of the bowl-
ing that has been allowed to pass unnoticed by umpires is
well described by the phrase quoted ; but, although this is
so, there are many minor offenders whom all would like to
see pulled up short, not out of any ill-will to them personally,
but in the interests of the game. Now throwing is most
pernicious to cricket, and is calculated, if allowed to increase
(as it surely will unless promptly suppressed by the authorities,
backed by public opinion), to exercise a most disastrous
effect on the game. The subject of throwing is sometimes
pooh-poohed by prominent cricketers, w T ho have remarked,
' What does it matter whether a man bowls or throws ? ' If
it makes no difference, by all means let the M.C.C. at
once expunge the rule relating to throwing and jerking.
But let us pause for a moment to see if there are any reasons
to suppose that it does make a difference. There are, in
truth, two very good reasons why throwing should be stopped.
First, if it were allowed it would seriously interfere with the
art of bowling. The reasons for this proposition are as
follows : In throwing there is no scope for dissimilarity of
style. All men who throw must, from the very nature of the
delivery, send the ball on its course with exactly the same
description of spin. It is impossible for a thrower to make
the ball go across the w T icket from the leg to the on side ; every

1 72 CRICKET.

ball which leaves a thrower's hand has the off-side spin on
it, and none other is possible. Any style which tends to cramp
bowling, as this does, must be bad. Again, a throwing bowler
cannot change his pace as other bowlers do ; he dare not bowl
che slow high-dropping ball so successfully used by Spofforth
and others, because he knows that when his arm and wrist
move slowly the unfair jerk of the wrist and elbow will be
more manifest than when it is partially concealed by the usual
quick movement of his arm. If throwing tends to cramp bowl-
ing, as it does, and render certain essentials for the develop-
ment of the science impossible, then it must be injurious to
the game. Secondly, if throwing were allowed the batsman
would be in a position of considerable danger. Many cricketers
say, ' Let throwers alone, they are always easy to play ; ' and
this, no doubt, is so, for the reasons given above, especially
when every thrower must, for the sake of appearances, adopt
some slight measure of disguise in his action ; but once let it
be recognised that throwing is part of the game, and a race of
sturdy chuckers will spring up, whose pace will be so terrific
that the best and pluckiest batsman will not be able to defend
his body, much less his wicket, against their lightning-like
deliveries. Imagine what it would be if Bonnor, or Forbes,
or Game were to be allowed to throw, all of them having
thrown in their best days as much as 120 yards — is it likely
that a batsman at a distance of only twenty-one yards could be
quick enough with his bat to stop such bowling ? Even with
an ordinary fast bowler a batsman has sometimes difficulty in
preventing himself from being struck by the ball, and with an
undisguised thrower the danger would be tenfold.

The question then arises, what can be done to stop the
throwing nuisance ? And it is one which every member of the
cricket-loving community should ask himself. It is a question
of the greatest difficulty, as is evident from the fact that the
committee of the M.C.C. have so far found it impossible to
legislate with regard to the nuisance. The committee has

BOWLING. 173

done everything in its power ; it has instructed the umpires to
watch closely the delivery of every doubtful bowler, and pro-
bably the umpires have acted fully up to their instructions ;
but they have stopped here, and absolutely refused to report
to the world the result of their careful observations. It is a
fact that of late years no professional umpire in a first-class
match has no-balled a professional bowler for throwing. This
is not to be wondered at : professional umpires themselves
have been professional bowlers, and they cannot bring them-
selves to take the bread out of the mouth of one of their own
class by no-balling him, and stigmatising him at once and for
ever as a ' thrower.'

We cannot get amateur umpires to stand : these would, no
doubt, fearlessly no-ball any unfair bowler ; but if we could, we
should probably find that the quantity of bad decisions in the
course of the year would be greatly increased. An umpire wants
practice and experience in keeping his attention and whole mind
fixed impartially on the game, and this can only be acquired by
those who stand day after day in that capacity.

The only way, then, to our mind, to stop throwing, as the
M.C.C. cannot and the umpires will not, is to get public
opinion to step in and sweep it off our cricket grounds. Let
every amateur cricketer, whether he plays for his county or his
village club, set his face resolutely against the evil, and do his
utmost to discourage it. If an ' Anti -Throwing Society ' could
be established amongst cricketers, we firmly believe it would
effect its object.

In the North of England, where the game is ever increas-
ingly popular, there are many 'chuckers' to be met with.
The clubs who do not possess, to say the least, a doubtful
bowler are, we should say from our experience, in the minority.
Young professional bowlers see the general laxity that prevails,
and adopt the peculiar flick of the wrist and elbow, hoping
thereby to get more twist on the ball, and this sooner or later
develops into a throw. Young bowlers of this description get

74

CRICKET.

drafted from their village clubs into the county team, and there-
by augment the number of 'doubtful' bowlers in first-class
matches. Now if every amateur stood out against this system,
and even went so far as to say, ' I will not be one of a team
that wins its matches by such means,' unfair bowling would
soon die out.

It may be accepted as an absolute truth that the greatest
bowlers do not throw, and never have. Spofforth, Turner, Pal-
mer, Lohmann, Richardson, Morley, and a host of others are

true bowlers, and to the credit
of the Australians it may be
said that till 1896, when Jones
and McKibbin came over, there
had been no suspicion against
any Colonial bowler, and it is a
matter of great regret that both
Jones and McKibbin must be
described as very great offenders
in the matter of throwing.

U will be well for everyone
to realise that, if this question is
allowed to drift on from year to
year without any serious protest
from public opinion, it will become absolutely necessary for the
committee of the M.C.C. to do something in the matter. What
this should be is, as we have said, very doubtful, and many and
varied would be the opinions of competent judges as to the form
of legislation that would meet the evil. It can almost be taken
for granted that it is impossible satisfactorily to define a throw,
and even if this were not so the solution of the question would
be no nearer, as there would be just the same difficulties in the
way of an umpire saying that a bowler came within the defini-
tion as there is now in saying that he throws. What is wanted
is to get rid of throwers in small club and village matches, and
then we should never get them drafted into first-class cricket.

Doubtful delivery.

BOWLING. j 75

If the umpire at either end were allowed to no-ball, we believe
the system of throwing would receive a serious blow. It often
happens that the thrower can only bowl at his own umpire's end ;
if he attempted it at the other end he knows what would await
him ; and if both umpires had the right to no-ball for throwing,
this difficulty would be overcome by his not being able to bowl
at either end. It is, however, earnestly to be hoped that no
change of any sort in the rules will be necessary, but that all true
cricketers will unite in discountenancing that which is always a
source of wrangling and dispute.

Before leaving the subject of fast bowling a few remarks on
the position of the field will not be out of place. Every bowlei
who is worth his salt knows much better than anyone else how
the field should be placed to his bowling. So much depends upon
the style and favourite strokes of the batsman to be dislodged and
the mode of attack that is going to be brought into requisition,
that the general rules we suggest here are more as a guide to
young fast bowlers than to those who have gained their experi-
ence. To a fast over the wicket round-arm bowler (on a true
wicket) the field should be placed as on page 176.

Should the bowler, however, be one who changes his pace to
slow and relies occasionally on quite a slow head ball, it will be
as well to bring short-leg half-way between the umpire and the
bowler, and put mid-on out deep in the field on the on side. On
no occasion should short-slip be dispensed with; he should on a
fast wicket be fairly fine, and if he is a quick active man with his
hands (as he should be for this post), about eight yards from the
wicket. The object of short-slip is to pick up snicks which just
miss the wicket-keeper, and although he may hold a larger pro-
portion of these quick snap catches when a long way from the
wicket, he will get an infinitely greater number when closer in ;
consequently, if he is a man of quick sight and tenacious
hand, he will actually secure more catches close in, although at
the same time he may miss more. The positions of long-leg, third
man, short-leg, and mid-on depend to a great extent on the bats-

176 CRICKET.

man's play. It is a golden rule never to do without a point and
cover-point, although in some instances — e.g. when a strong cut-
ting batsman is in on a fast wicket — it is sometimes advisable to
place point in front of the wicket and cover-point square. It is,

COVER SLIP LONC SLIP

SHORT SLIP

3 B MAN

%

WICKET KEEPER

POINT

COVER POINT

MID ON

MID OFF

LONG FIELD
The field for a fast right-arm bowler.

however, but seldom that this is necessary, and many cricketers
always view the change with some misgiving as to its correctness,
because a good active cover-point in the usual place saves a large
number of runs and, probably, gets more catches than any

BOWLING. 177

other man in the field, with the exception of the wicket-keeper
and short-slip.

A round the wicket fast bowler requires the field in much
the same position. But in his case it is sometimes necessary to
have an extra man on the leg side, as these bowlers are very apt
to bowl between the legs and the wicket, which means with good
batsmen that they get played on to the leg side, between mid-on

LONC SLIP

EXTRA SHORT SUP • SHORT SLIP

a- MAN

wicket*kee:per

COVER POINT

MID ON
EXTRA CO VER POINT

MID OFF •

BOWLER

The field for a fast left-arm bowler.

and short-leg. If this change is necessary long-leg may be sent
almost to the boundary, very fine, behind the wicket, and long-
stop be brought on to the leg side. A very fine long- leg pre-
vents boundary byes, and generally manages to save the fine long-
leg boundary hits. Unless there is a first- class man behind the
stumps, however, this generally results with first-class bowling in
rather too many extras to justify its continuance. Fast left-hand

N

178 CRICKET.

bowlers want more men on the off side, as, from the nature of
their bowling, they get more punished in that direction than
anywhere else. If fast left-hand bowling is accurate and straight,
long-leg is usually dispensed with, and, in fact, mid-on as well
is often taken to the other side of the wicket, leaving short-
leg, who is brought forward a few yards, the only man on the leg
side of the wicket. Then there is an unbroken line of fielders
on the off side, which the batsman finds it difficult to break
through if it is composed of active and energetic men. The
way in which fast left-handed bowlers place their field is usually
as on page 177.

There is a class of fast left-hand bowlers who require more
men on the on side— viz. those who give the ball the leg side
bias on delivery, which, to a right-handed batsman, causes the
ball to come in from the off side, or, as it is usually termed,
to come with the arm. It is often necessary with this style of
bowling to have a very fine short-leg, to stop the snicks and leg
byes which are caused by the batsman playing outside the ball.
Then a short-leg by the umpire is necessary, and also a mid-on,
making three on the on side. Mr. Appleby, of Lancashire, is
an example of this style of bowler, as is Wright of Kent, who at
times is most deadly with the ball coming with the arm, espe-
cially if he has any assistance from the lie of the ground. We
have occasionally seen a left-arm bowler, like Emmett of York-
shire — who relies exclusively on the off break, which, to a right-
handed batsman, brings the ball from leg to off— involuntarily
send down a ball that, instead of taking the bias imparted to it,
for some strange and unaccountable reason went the other way,
an accident which places the batsman in a most awkward fix.

Some bowlers experience great difficulty in bowling to
left-handed batsmen. The necessary alteration in their style
seems to worry them and interfere with their accuracy of pitch.
Usually a slow bowler tries to get a left-handed batsman caught
on the off side. He places most of his men on this side, and
bowls the off break (or, as it would be to a left-handed bats-
man, the leg-break) with the object of getting the batsman

BOWLING. 179

to play inside the ball, and thus make an upstroke. In short,
he places the men as a left-handed bowler places them when
bowling to a right-handed batsman. Left-handed batsmen
are notoriously strong and powerful in their off hitting, and
consequently in this direction must the bait be laid. As a rule,
left-handed batsmen are apt to be a trifle wild and unable to
restrain their keenness to hit, and consequently they pay the
usual penalty of attempting to hit widish off balls going away
from them. But occasionally a bowler meets a left-hander who
is too wide awake and too good a batsman thus to throw away
his chance of scoring, and then different tactics must be em-
ployed. There have been, and are, wonderfully few really good
left-handed batsmen in England, and the chance of. a bowler
having to meet one of them is very slight. Between the years
1 880 and 1890 there were only, in first class cricket, the late W.
Scotton of Notts and Peel of Yorkshire and the late F. M.
Lucas. The best of this class was perhaps F. M Lucas, whose
early death in India will always be deeply regretted by his wide
circle of friends. He was really an accomplished batsman with
good sound defence and great punishing powers. A slow
bowler might bowl for hours on the off side to him with the
sole result of seeing four after four being despatched all along
the ground to the boundary. Moses of Sydney has many times
distinguished himself against our English teams in Australia,
and was an excellent batsman. At the present time we have
Ford, Clement Hill and Darling the Australians, and the two
last are probably the two finest left-handed batsmen the world
has seen. Ford as a hitter was perhaps the hardest left-hander
that ever lived, and Hewett a few years ago was almost as hard.
Bruce the Australian is a fine free left-handed batsman, and cer-
tainly has a more graceful and finished style than any other left-
hander we have yet seen. In our opinion, when a really good
left-hander comes in, one who is not likely to get himself out
on the off side by careless hitting, an attack should be made
on his leg-stump. Most left-handers are good leg-hitters, but
we have never yet seen one (not excepting those above

n 2

180 CRICKET,

named) who was as good on the leg-stump as a first-class right-
handed batsman. There is an awkwardness apparent in the
left-hander's play to a ball pitching on the leg-stump, or just
inside it, and there is always a great likelihood of a cross bat
being used for a leg hit. Many and many a time has the writer,
after trying the off-ball trick unsuccessfully against one of these
batsmen, succeeded in dismissing him by bowling over the
wicket at the leg-stump and between the legs and leg-stump
of the batsman. This manoeuvre only entails a couple of
men being brought across from the off side to stop the run-
getting.

There is one species of ball which we have not discussed,
deadly as it is, both in fast and slow bowling. This is the ball
which, after the pitch, never rises, but shoots along the surface
of the ground, and is commonly called a ' shooter.' The reason
why no notice was taken of this when the different kinds of
ball which may be bowled were being dealt with is because
no amount of practice or skill can enable a bowler to bowl
thus. It depends for existence upon inequalities in the ground.
There are some grounds which have acquired great reputation
for supplying ■ shooters ' for the benefit of bowlers ; but this
reputation is unfortunately always accompanied by one for
being lumpy and dangerous. Not a great many years ago
Lord's used to be celebrated for shooters, owing to its rough
condition ; and even now, well looked after as it is, shooters
are of more frequent occurrence there than on most other
good grounds. Although it is not in the power of any man
to bowl shooters at will, still there is no doubt that men with
a low delivery have a greater chance of being helped by a
shooter than men who bowl with a high overhead action.
The writer recollects at Cambridge, about 1879 or 1880, being
told by a young professional bowler, engaged at the University
ground at that time, that he had found out how to bowl shooters.
He was a bowler of considerable promise, and had begun to
make his mark in county cricket, but it being known that his
cricket abilities far exceeded his intellectual powers, the an-

BOWLING. 181

nouncement of this wonderful discovery was received with some
amount of doubt. However, out he came to bowl, to prove his
prowess with the celebrated shooter ; but it simply appeared that,
instead of bowling with an overhead delivery, which was his wont,
he bent his body quite low, and proceeded to bowl in a manner
which was hardly removed from genuine under-hand. It is
unnecessary to say that there were no shooters. His balls kept
low after the pitch because his action was low.

There is one style of bowling sometimes seen in the present
day that has not been mentioned, viz. fast under-arm. This
is of two kinds : first, that which pitches a good length as with
round-arm bowling ; secondly, ' sneaks,' or bowling that pitches
near the bowler's hand and travels along the ground till the ball
reaches the batsman. The latter can never be of any avail
against a good player on a decent wicket, as every ball can be
met by the forward stroke and rendered harmless. In country
matches it is amusing to see the batsmen holding their bats in
the air and trying to pounce down at the very last moment on
these balls. This mode of playing such bowling is essentially
incorrect, and would even be likely to cause the downfall of a
good batsman ; it is as certain as anything can be at cricket
that a good forward straight bat cannot miss a •' sneak.' Mr.
C. I. Thornton at one time attempted this style of bowling,
and was known to get a wicket or two. The good- length fast
under-arm, when bowled round the wicket with a good leg twist
on, might be made very dangerous. The old style of low
round-arm, mentioned a few pages back, was very similar to this
style of bowling, and was bowled with the same object as this
has in view, viz. catches in the slips and on the off side. We
only know of one fast under-arm, leg twist, good-length bowler,
and he does not play in first-class cricket. His name is Bunch,
an old sergeant of the Black Watch, well known on many mili-
tary cricket-grounds all over England and India. Some years
ago he was decidedly a good bowler, his balls came very fast,
pitched good length on the leg-stump, and, having lots of leg
stuff on, wanted very careful play.

1 82 CRICKET.

And now, after having discussed the different styles of
bowling known in cricket, let us consider some of the main
rules which must guide the action ot every bowler in the field.
The first and chief principle that a young bowler must master
is that he is bowling for his side's success, and not for his own ;
and that, with that object in view, he has voluntarily placed
himself under the leadership of his captain. He must, there-
fore, give in at once, and readily, to every order. A captain is
always ready to hear the suggestions of a bowler, and, as a
rule, with regard to placing the field, is always willing to adopt
them ; but should he not do so, the bowler must accept the
decision with the best grace possible. There is nothing more
discouraging and demoralising to a side than a sulky bowler —
i.e. one who gets angry when spoken to, and subsequently
adopts a defiant manner towards his captain. This bowler is
usually a very poor stamp of sportsman, but unfortunately
he may often be seen, and the marks by which he may be
recognised are : First, bowling wildly and much faster than
usual. Secondly, getting to his place at the end of his over
after everyone else. Thirdly, if he fields a ball, throwing at
the wicket, instead of to the wicket-keeper, as hard as he can,
generally causing an over-throw. Fourthly, if he misses a
ball in the field, standing still and allowing some more remote
fielder to run after it, or else running after it himself at about
he same pace as if he were just starting on a five-mile race.
He is a great nuisance generally in the game. We do not deny
that circumstances often arise when one is bowling that tax to
ine utmost the temper of the mildest man in the world ; it is,
to say the least, very irritating to try for half an hour to get a
man caught out by a particular stroke off a particular ball,
and then at the end see the ball bowled, the stroke made, and
the catch missed ; but, as chance enters to a great extent into
the game, the bowler ought to do his very utmost to curb his
feelings, in the interests of others who are taking part in the
game.

A bowler should be ready to take any place in the field

BOWLING. 183

when he is not bowling. In these days, when slow bowling is
frequently on at both ends, there is often a difficulty in getting
four men to do the out-fielding. A bowler should not object at
all to help his side by doing this out-country work. Although
a great specialist in the field, such as an excellent cover-point
or point, is always an object of admiration, more admirable still
are men good at all places. W. G. Grace, A. N. Hornby, and
many others we could mention were at one time equally safe
and at home in any position where they were placed.

A bowler should never grumble aloud at catches being
missed ; the unfortunate man has done his best and failed,
and any censure only makes him more flurried and adds to his
discomfiture without doing any good.

A golden rule for every bowler to observe is — after the
batsman has played the ball, get back to the wicket as quickly
as possible. Neglect of this rule loses many a 'run out.' If a
bowler does not get back to his wicket, there is no one to take
the ball and knock the bails off should the batsmen run arid
the ball be returned to the bowler's end. When the ball is
thrown up, the bowler should not take it till it has just passed
the wicket ; he should then seize and sweep the ball into the
stumps in one and the same action. Should he stand behind
and take the ball before it reaches the wicket, there is great"
danger of his disarranging the bails before he gets the ball in his
hands. Of course there are exceptions to this rule — e.g. when
a ball is coming very slowly up to the wicket from a feeble
throw or because the ground is sticky and dead ; then the
bowler must do his best anyhow to get the ball into the stumps
before the batsman reaches the crease.

A bowler should never throw the ball at the wicket unless
it is the only possible chance of running the batsman out.
There is always a chance of the ball slipping out of his hand
and missing its aim.

A bowler should take plenty of time between each ball he
delivers. If he hurries he will get flurried and out of breath
and bowl badly.

184 CRICKET.

It is a mistake for a bowler to appeal unless he has a
good chance of getting a favourable decision. Umpires are
very peculiar individuals ; once let it enter their heads that a
bowler is trying to 'jockey ' a decision out of them, up go their
backs, and they suddenly become a mechaninal toy that glibly
answers every appeal with the two words ' Not out,' and those
only. A bowler is quite justified in appealing for a leg before
wicket even if he is himself doubtful and uncertain as to
whether the ball pitched quite straight or would have quite hit
the wicket, since he is exceedingly likely not to form a correct
impression of its straightness from the fact of his being at the
moment of the pitch of the ball a little out of the straight line
between the wickets.

Bowlers should always take care before a match that they
are shod with good stout shoes with plenty of nails in them.
It is a most important thing for a bowler to have shoes which
will prevent him from slipping, and this is somewhat difficult
when grounds are so constantly changing from hard to soft.
For a hard ground nothing is better than big nails or screws ;
these do not go into the ground, but grip it and give a firm
foothold. The left shoe of a right-hand bowler and the right
shoe of a left-hand one should be extra well supplied with nails,
because in the act of bowling the whole weight of the body
comes down upon the left foot with the right-hand bowler and
the right with a left-hand one.

For a soft ground the old-fashioned spikes are the best.
They can be put in and taken out in a few minutes before the
beginning of a match, according to the state of the ground.
Every bowler should carry spikes, nails, and screws, a screw-
driver and gimlet, in his cricket- bag.

A bowler should do all in his power to prevent cutting up
the wicket with his feet in a place where bowling from the other
end may pitch. If he finds that he is doing so with either foot
he should at once change sides of the wicket, and if he then
finds that, do what he will, he cannot help damaging the wicket
— which is a most unlikely event — he should at once desist from

BOWLING. 1 85

bowling. If the ground is unduly cut up and made artificially
difficult for the batsman by bowlers' feet, whether it is done
intentionally or not, such bowling is unfair and should at once
be stopped. Spofforth in some states of the ground used to
spoil it terribly, and this although he wore no spikes on the
offending foot. The side of this foot, however, came down
with great force a few yards in front of his own wicket. No
doubt great damage at times was caused to the opposing bats-
men by this unfortunate foot, and also to the Australian batsmen
themselves, and on one occasion an appeal was made to the
umpire as to whether, though caused unintentionally, it was or
was not unfair. The umpire declined to give an opinion.
But there can be little doubt that a bowler who has unfortu-
nately developed this tendency is transgressing the rules of fair
cricket.

A chapter on bowling would not be complete without
the addition of some rules for the guidance of those who are
beginning to play cricket and who want to learn how to bowl.
Success depends so much upon the natural action of the
bowler that the multiplicity of rules so often laid down for the
guidance of young bowlers, though followed out to the letter,
does not greatly profit the aspirant to bowling honours. There
are many straight accurate bowlers who can put as much twist
as most men on the ball, and who yet never attain to any
eminence in the art. This is due to their action being simple
and easy to see, and to their consequent inability to deceive
the batsman as to the pace and flight of the ball. There are,
however, one or two simple elementary rules which it would
be always as well for young bowlers to follow.

First. — Take every opportunity of bowling at imitation
cricket with a racquet or fives ball, or any other sort of ball.
This teaches you by practical experience the difference in the
spins of the ball and what constitutes a good ball. Small
cricket with a fives ball and a fives bat is splendid fun, and has
initiated many a youngster into the mysteries of break- backs
and breaks from leg.

1 86 CRICKET.

Secondly. — Keep your arm as high as possible.

Thirdly.— If naturally inclined to be a fast bowler, aim at
straightness first of all, and take care to bowl well within your
strength.

Fourthly. — Always bowl in the same style and action. Bowl
every day in practice, but not for more than half an hour. And
take a rest of a minute or so after every six balls ; remember in a
match you have a rest after every four or five. Bowl carefully
in practice. If you get tired leave off at once. If you find
your bowling is getting worse instead of better, leave off for a
few days and have a complete rest.

Fifthly. — Take a good long run, whether you bowl slow or
fast ; and if you can, run on a little after delivering the ball.
This gives extra ' fire ' to the ball.

Sixthly. — Be sure to practise bowling both sides of the
wicket.

Seventhly. — If you want to become a really good bowler
accustom your fingers early to get as much twist as possible on
the ball, both ways.

i87

CHAPTER IV.

CAPTAINCY.

(By A. G. Steel.)

is a strange tact con-
nected with cricket
that a good captain
is but seldom met
with. The game has
made such progress
in popularity during
the last thirty years,
and the numbers of
those who are pro-
ficient in its different
branches have in-
creased so enorm-
ously, that we should
certainly expect to
find in our county
and other important
matches captains who
thoroughly under-
stand the duties they
are called upon to
fulfil. But on look-
ing round we are
-••** disappointed to find

that the really good captains in first-class (including of course
county) cricket are extremely few, and these few are amateurs.

1 88 CRICKET.

The cause of this may be that few men are able to take part in
first-class cricket after they have served such an apprenticeship
as would give them the experience, calmness, and judgment
necessary for the difficult post of captain ; or it may be that
the qualifications for a good leader in the cricket-field are,
from their very nature, seldom met with — in other words,
that a captain is born not made, and very seldom born, too.
Few professional cricketers (it is a well-known fact) make
good captains ; we have hardly ever seen a match played,
where a professional cricketer was captain of either side, in
which he was not guilty of some very palpable blunders.
Take the Gentlemen v. Players matches, at Lord's and the
Oval, for the last twenty years ; the Players have always
been seriously handicapped by the want of a good captain,
though Shrewsbury and Gunn may be exceptions. Bowlers
are kept on maiden after maiden without the faintest chance
of a wicket, no originality of attack is ever attempted, and
altogether the captaincy is usually bad. It must, however, be
admitted that 'professional' captains are in a more difficult
position than amateurs, inasmuch as they are often exposed to
the but thinly concealed murmurings of their fellows, who
consider that they have not been treated with the amount of
consideration they deserve. Amateurs always have made, and
always will make, the best captains ; and this is only natural.
An educated mind, with a logical power of reasoning, will
always treat every subject better than one comparatively un-
taught. There are exceptions to every rule, and Alfred Shaw,
the best professional captain we ever came across, is the ex-
ception here. The disastrous effects of bad captaincy on the
success of a side were never more clearly manifested than by
the Australian team that visited England in 1878. This team
contained several good bowlers who, helped by the sticky state
of the ground, were very deadly to our best batsmen. Their
batting was rough and rather untutored, but still at times
dangerous. They met with great success until the grounds got
hard and firm, when their bowlers were collared. It is in ad-

CAPTAINCY. 189

versity at cricket, as in the more serious walks of life, that the
best qualities come to the fore ; and whenever the Australian
bowlers were collared, the whole team seemed to go to
pieces. Either the captain or the bowlers placed the fielders
in the most extraordinary and unheard-of positions, where
they had but little chance of saving runs or getting catches.
SpofTorth during one match at Lord's in that season bowled
the greater part of the day to a batsman — the Hon. Edward
Lyttelton — who was not dismissed till he had topped his
hundred. Ball after ball was neatly cut on the hard true ground
to the boundary, past the spot where third man ought to have
been but was not. Fancy a fast bowler bowling on a hard
ground, while a batsman made a hundred without a third
man ; then think that this batsman was one of the finest
amateur cutters of his day, and you will wonder what had
become of the management of the side ! This was, however,
the first year the Australians visited us ; on many subsequent
occasions we found out to our cost that they had made good
use of their time and experience in England, and had im-
proved, in every branch of the game, to what was to an
Englishman's eye an alarming extent. Their captaincy, how-
ever, has never been good, till Trott, a thoroughly good cap-
tain, took command in 1896 j Murdoch, of course, had a
thoroughly sound knowledge of the game ; but his better
judgment was too frequently hampered by the ceaseless
chattering and advice of one or two men who never could
grasp the fact that in the cricket-field there can only be one
captain.

The chief qualifications for a good captain are a sound
knowledge of the game, a calm judgment, and the ability to
inspire others with confidence.

Bad captains may be split up into three classes : —

1. Nervous and excitable men.

2. Dull apathetic men.

3. Bowling captains, with an aversion to seeing anybody
bowl but themselves.

i 9 o CRICKET.

i. The nervous and excitable class is perhaps the worst of
all, and sides which have the misfortune to be led by one
of this division are indeed heavily handicapped. The chief
peculiarity of a captain of this sort is that he seems never to be
able to keep still for a moment in the field. He is continually
rushing about, altering the field every over without any reason,
shouting excitedly at the top of his voice whenever a fielder
has to stop or throw up the ball, and generally creating a feel-
ing of uneasiness and excitement among players and spectators.
He is at one moment tearing his hair distractedly because some
unfortunate fielder has let a ball through his legs, and the next
shouting and dancing with excitement and joy when some
exceptionally good catch or bit of fielding has got rid of a
dangerous batsman.

2. A member of the second class may be easily recognised.
He walks slowly to his place at the end of each over with his
eyes fixed on the ground, as if in deep thought. In reality he
is thinking of nothing, or, at any rate, nothing connected with
the game. He has put his two best bowlers on, and so long
as a wicket falls every thirty or forty runs, what does it matter
whether or not time is being wasted by a series of profitless
short-pitched maiden overs ? It is the bowler's duty, not his,
to get the batsmen out, and if the latter put on forty runs with-
out a wicket falling, why it will be time enough then to try
someone else, and perhaps later on he himself might have a
turn with lobs if things get into a very bad state. It does not
take long, with a captain like this, for a side to get thoroughly
demoralised and slack.

3. The bowling captains suffer from the very opposite of the
feebleness which affects the last class ; over-keenness is their
bane. They are generally moderate bowlers, who at times enjoy
a fair amount of success, and who are often very valuable to
their side as changes. But the power of bowling wherever and
for as long as they please is too much for them. Over after over
hit to all parts of the field, without the slightest suspicion of a

CAPTAINCY. 191

chance of a wicket, only convinces the self-confident captain
that something must happen sooner or later — and something
generally does after the match has been bowled away. The
fascination that bowling has for captains and the danger it often
leads to is a good reason for pausing before selecting as
captain anyone who has any pretensions in this branch of
the game. It is sometimes, however, impossible for a side
to recognise anyone as captain except a bowler. He may
be the oldest and most experienced member of the team,
or perhaps from his position as a cricketer it may be out of
the question to pass him over, and then, of course, the best
of a bad job must be made. But a captain who is also a
bowler has much heavier responsibilities in the field than
one who is not. Even if he happens not to be over-anxious
about trundling all day himself, he is apt from shyness and
diffidence of his own merits not to put himself on at all —
another extreme into which some captains before now have
fallen.

The duties of a captain are of two kinds : those out of the
field and those in it, and it is proposed ro discuss them in
the order named. The first duty of a captain is the choice
of his team ; but as it so frequently happens, nowadays, that
the team is chosen for him by the committee of his county
or his club, this topic may be passed over till we discuss
the duties of the captains at the Universities and Public
Schools.

When the team is chosen, the captain's first duty is to win
the t'oss ; and assuming that by the aid of his lucky sixpence
he has succeeded in so doing, he should at once decide whether
he or his opponent is to begin the batting. It is a very old
saying that the side that wins the toss should go in, and it is a
very true one. No captain who wins the toss and puts the
other side in deserves to win the match, unless there are
some very exceptional circumstances to be taken into his con-
sideration. There is, perhaps, only one reason to justify a

1 92 CRICKET.

captain putting the other side in first. If the ground, previously
hard) has been softened by a night's rain, and if at the time
of beginning it is drying under a hot baking sun, and if the
captain is tolerably sure that it is going to be a fine day, then
he will do well to put the other side in. There must be present
these three conditions of ground and weather before he is jus-
tified in refusing to bat. The ground will then for the first
hour and a half or two hours make a bowling wicket ; the top soft
in the early morning, and gradually getting caked under the
hot sun, will in the afternoon, if the weather keeps fine and it
has been hard before the rain, assume its former hardness and
become easy for batting for the last few hours of the day's play.
If the ground has been soft before the rain and has been made
still softer by the rain, it is madness to put the other side in.
The first two or three hours will then be easy for batting, as a
very slow soft wicket is always against the bowlers, and it will
not be till after several hours of hot sun have been on it that it
will begin to get caked and difficult for the batsman. Suppose
the weather looks uncertain and broken, and the glass has been
gradually going down, a captain should never in any state of
the ground risk putting his opponents in. Rain is always in
favour of the in side ; bowlers cannot stand and cannot hold
the ball, which, wet and slippery, cannot be made to take any
twist or screw that the bowler may try to give it.

Sometimes in a one-day match it may be advisable to put
the other side in under circumstances different from the above,
circumstances which are for the captain alone to judge of, and
which it is impossible to discuss. Suppose a very strong side
is playing against a very much weaker one. It may be that the
captain of the former is afraid that if his side once goes to the
wickets, so many runs will be made as to preclude all probability
of finishing the match ; and he may be content after confer-
ence with the members of his team to take the undoubted risk
of putting the other side in ; it is, however, a very dangerous
thing to do at any time, and his finesse may very possibly

CAPTAINCY. 193

end disastrously to his side in the imperfect light of the
evening.

There are, however, some disadvantages in batting first.
In the first place, nearly every cricketer is a better man after
luncheon than before. Do not let this be understood for a
moment as a hint that the overnight carousals of cricketers
(very pleasant though they be) are such as to interfere with
correctness of eye and steadiness of hand in the morning.
Far be it from me to suggest such a thing. But every man
is fitter in the afternoon, his eye is more accustomed to the light,
and his digestion is better. And besides, the men that walk
to the wickets to bat the first time they go into the field are
apt to be more nervous than those who have been playing a
few hours and have got accustomed to the light and general
surroundings. These are disadvantages certainly, but they are as
nothing compared to the advantages gained by batting first.
These include getting the best of the light, the best of the
wicket, and, last but not least, the incalculable advantage of
having in the last innings of the match to save and not get
runs on a wicket that has previously stood the wear and tear
of three innings. The side that bats second is nearly always
in at the close of the first day's play, and the lights and shadows
between six and seven often make the ball very difficult to
judge accurately ; at Lord's, especially, the light gets bad to-
wards the close of the day ; a haze overspreads the ground,
making clear and accurate sight extremely difficult. As for
the respective difficulties of making and saving runs, a cricketer
need only look at his scores and references to see how often
the out side at the close of a match has prevented the in side
from getting the runs required. The feeling of responsibility
which affects the batsmen on these occasions creates an over-
anxiety to play steadily and run no risks, and often results in
feeble play. Then the bowlers and fielders are nerved to their
utmost endeavour to keep the runs down, every fielder runs after
the ball at the very top of his speed, half-a-dozen men are

o

i 9 4 CRICKET.

backing up to prevent an overthrow, and the bowler not only
does all he knows to secure a wicket, but strives hard to avoid
the delivery of a punishable ball. Whenever a side goes in for
the last innings of the match against a big score and wins,
one may feel sure the match has been won by sound and
sterling cricket. There are many well-known instances of
the fielding side pulling the match out of the fire at the
very last moment. In the Oxford and Cambridge match in
1875, Cambridge in their last innings wanted 175 runs to
win. Seven wickets fell for 114. The eighth went down
at 161. Before this wicket fell it looked any odds on Cam-
bridge, but the eleven were eventually all out for 168, and
lost the match by six runs. In England v. Australia at the
Oval in 1882, England, the last innings, wanted 85 to win,
but only made 77. The annals of cricket are full of in-
stances showing that it is better at the end of a match to have
to save runs than make them. We remember playing in a
match some years ago in Scotland, where the folly of putting in
the other side first on a good wicket was clearly shown. It was
a two days' match, and the two best batsmen on the side which
lost the toss had been travelling all night from England. This,
in spite of a good wicket, induced the captain who had been
successful in the toss to put the other side in. One of these
travel-worn and weary batsmen knocked up over ninety runs,
the ground began to cut up, and the side that had refused to
bat first came utterly to grief. As the losing captain, left the
ground, he said, ' One thing this match has taught me — never
to put the other side in first.' The following year the same
match was arranged, and once more the toss was won by the
same captain. The ground was very soft indeed, in fact sodden
with days of heavy rain. Again, in spite of the former sad ex-
perience, the other side were put in first and made over 200
runs. The ground was too soft for bowlers to put any life into
the ball, and all bowling was comparatively easy. Next day the
ground had got firmer and more solid, and the side that won
the toss was again dismissed for two insignificant totals.

CAPTAINCY. I95

With regard to the order in which a captain should send in
his men, a good deal depends on the strength of the batting he
has at command. With a weakish batting team it is, in our
opinion, always better to send in the best batsman first, assuming
of course he has no objection to the place. It is of great im-
portance to give the best batsman every possible advantage, and
the men who go first to the wickets have a great advantage over
the others. They have less waiting for their innings, and con-
sequently less of that restless nervousness from which few men
are free ; they have the best of the wicket ; they have often
loosish bowling just at first, before the bowlers have warmed to
their work ; and, last but certainly not least, they are batting
a new ball. Few people realise what a difference a new ball
makes to the batsman ; it goes cleaner and firmer off the bat
than an old one, and, what is better than all, a hard new ball is
much more difficult to twist than one that has had a hundred
runs made off it. Let anyone look at an old bowler who has to
begin the bowling : his first action is to rub the ball on the
ground in the hope of taking off even a little of its slippery
newness ; it is not, however, till after its surface has been con-
siderably worn that it begins to take much notice of any twist,
at any rate on a hard ground.

With such advantages to be gained by going in first it would
be a pity not to give the best batsman the chance of making a
good start for his side. A good start gives confidence to the
shaky batsman, and shows the bowlers that they are not to have
it all their own way. Sometimes the best batsman on a side
does not care about going in first ; if so, it is always well to con
suit his wishes and humour him, but he should never go in later
than second wicket. With the best batsman should go some
steady correct bat, one who plays the game thoroughly and
does not take liberties with the bowling. In these days of
perfect grounds it is a vast mistake to send in first a regular
1 sticker,' one who scores at the rate of eight or ten an hour.
The stonewallers of our cricket-fields have a great deal to
answer for in the heavy indictment against modern players

i 9 6 CRICKET.

of leaving so many unfinished matches. An account was
lately given in the papers of a man recognised as a first-
class county bat who was in on a fast hard wicket in the
first innings of a match three hours and forty minutes for
thirty-two runs. More shame to him 1 He did his best to
draw the match, and by puddling about for so long only helped
to wear out the ground for more capable scorers who were to
follow him. Sometimes, when the ground is very bad, it is
good to have a sticker, but taken altogether cricket would be
very much better off if the whole race of stickers occasionally
adopted a somewhat freer style. Nobody objects to slow
scoring so long as the batsmen are playing good correct cricket,
playing the straight ones with a straight bat and cutting or
hitting the crooked ones; but every cricketer objects to seeing
ball after ball simply stopped without the slightest attempt to
make a run.

Two very fast run-getting batsmen should not be sent in
together ; they are apt to run each other a bit off their legs.
W. G. Grace and A. P. Lucas were as good a pair for first that
have ever been seen ; both played sound correct cricket : the
former scored freely, the latter when the ground was hard quite
fast enough ; and Shrewsbury and Stoddart were about as good.

After the first two have been selected the others must
follow generally in order of merit ; it is as well not to put in
two hard-hitters together if possible, as it often tends to
make one hit against the other. First one makes a big hit ,
the other feels bound to follow suit, quite irrespective of the
pitch of the ball, and loses his wicket. It is always an excel-
lent thing to have one or two real good hitters, but they should
be kept apart as far as possible in their innings ; sixth or
seventh wicket down is a very useful place for a hard hitter ;
the bowling has often begun to get a trifle loose by that time,
and good hitting may make a dreadful mess of it in a very
short time.

If any of the bowlers on whom the captain relies for his
main attack happen to be goodish batsmen and likely to make
a few runs, it is just as well to let their innings come off as early

CAPTAINCY. 197

as convenient. A bowler who makes forty or fifty runs at the
close of an innings never bowls as well after the running about
as he would do had he made nothing, and it is consequently
best if possible to insure him a rest before he begins his
more important duties as bowler. It is exceptional to find
a man successful in batting and bowling in the same match.
There are a good number of modern cricketers who are
very fair all-round men, and shine at times in both branches of
the game ; but it very rarely happens that success awaits them
in both in the same match. Sometimes we find a well-known
bowler piling up heaps of runs, but on looking at the other side
of the score-sheet we generally perceive that he has done it at the
expense of his wickets. Alfred Shaw, the famous Nottingham
bowler, used at times to bat with great success, but when he
did so he was nearly always unsuccessful with the ball.

When once the captain has arranged the order in which
his men are to bat he should stick to it. It is worrying and
harassing to the batsmen to be continually shifted up and down.
We once saw one of the best batsmen in England put in last
but one because the captain thought he looked nervous. His
side was beaten by a few runs, and without his having received
one single ball. An order made out before the innings begins
is more likely to be correct than one hashed and cut about
amidst excitement and anxiety. Never should a captain change
his order in the second innings ; of course a man who is in
particularly good form may be given a hoist up a place or so,
but the bad bats of the team should not be sent in first so
long as there is the remotest possibility of losing ; and at cricket
this contingency is nearly always on the cards. The good
batsmen do not wish to go in if there is only an hour or an
hour and a half to play ; they may get out and cannot make
a really big score, so they fight shy for their average's sake.
Captains should put a stop to this and insist on their taking
their proper place ; first, because the side may otherwise be
beaten, and secondly, because those who have the advantage
of going in first in favourable circumstances should also take
their turn when things are not so bright.

19.8 CRICKET.

After a captain has written out his order of going in, he
should carefully watch the innings from the first to the very last
ball. A watchful captain can at times greatly help his side ; a
shout of ' steady ' when a young batsman appears to be getting
rash in his play, or when two players are getting a little abroad
as to running, often comes with great effect and authority from
a captain, and may prevent such a catastrophe as that repre-
sented in the illustration opposite. A word of encouragement
to a nervous player as he leaves the pavilion may also often
be of service. On no account should a captain ever abuse a
batsman, no matter what rash stroke or foolish lack of judg-
ment has cost him his wicket. Nothing is so galling to a
batsman when he has made a bad stroke or been guilty of a
mistake as being publicly derided or reproved. Afterwards,
when the keen sense of vexation has somewhat subsided, a
quiet word of advice may be given, and will have much
more effect than a noisy public remonstrance. A good
cricketer who has made a bad stroke and thereby lost his
wicket knows better than any spectator what a mistake he
has committed. Pavilion worthies, ye who love cricket for
its own sake, ye who sit for hours criticising every ball and
every stroke, forbear, we pray you, out-spoken remarks on the
arrival of a discomfited batsman. 'What on earth possessed
you to try to hit a straight one to leg ? ' * You never seemed
at home the whole time ! ' ' You can't keep that leg of yours
out of the way ! ' are all remarks that may be withheld at any
rate till the keen sense of failure has diminished.

It may possibly happen that during the course of an innings
a point which during the summer of 1887 was considerably dis-
cussed, and about which some very extraordinary remarks have
been made, may crop up for decision by the captain. Supposing
he considers that his side has made enough runs to win the
match, and that if any more are made there will not be sufficient
time to get the other side out. Is he justified or not in giving
orders to his men to get out on purpose ? A great controversy
arose on this point about ten years ago, owing to the captain

CAPTAINCY. 201

of one of our leading counties considering that he was entitled
to give such orders. If this question be looked at from a
cricketer's point of view — and by that is meant from one which
is in every way honourable and to the furtherance of the true
interests of the game — it will be seen at once that a captain has
a perfect right to ask his men to get out whenever he considers
enough runs have been made to insure victory.

The true principle of the game is, we take it, that every side
should do its utmost honourably to win the match. In days
gone by, when grounds were rough and uneven, every match
had to be completed in a much shorter time than is now allowed.
In these times of improved batting and perfection in grounds,
three whole days have been decided on as the time within which
every county or club must win, lose, or draw the match. The
game is not to lose or to draw ; it is to win ; and the side that
can win most matches in the time allowed is plainly the best
side. And should a side make so many runs as to render it im-
possible to win if they make more, whereas if they get out they
must almost inevitably win, and can scarcely lose, we consider it
would not be acting up to the true principle of the game if it
did not get out. Besides, what sport or individual interest to
a batsman is there in making runs after the match is practically
finished ? A man does not play at cricket for himself so much
as for his side ; it is not the number of individual notches or
wickets that falls to his lot which delights the true cricketer : it
is the actual result of 'won or lost.' What pleasure does a
member of either of the University elevens derive from making
fifty every innings he plays in the Inter-University matches if
all his matches are lost ? There are some who say that directly
the principle is recognised that a man has a right to get out
on purpose in order to gain victory for his side, it will open the
door to all sorts of shady tricks in the game, and there wiil be
no guarantee to the cricket-loving public that a side is trying.
We cannot see the relevancy of this argument; if a man sacri-
fices himself for his side, the more honour is due to him. It is
suggested that if the batting side has a right to get out or to

202 CRICKET.

forego its right of batting, the fielding side has a right to drop
catches purposely and to bowl no balls and wides so as to avoid
being beaten. If this latter course were permitted, it would be
in direct contradiction to the true principle of the game — viz.
the endeavour to win ; it would be a dishonest subterfuge to
prevent victory from rewarding the side that had played the best ;
it would be an un-English, dog-in-the-manger policy, and, in our
opinion, it would entitle the umpires to say that the game was
not being played fairly. There is a vast difference in principle
between getting out on purpose in order to win and bowling
and fielding badly in order to snatch victory from the best side.
A captain is, then, not only perfectly justified, but is bound in
the interests of his side, and in the true interests of the game,
to order his men to get out if that is the only way to win.

[In 1894 the M.C.C. passed a law to the effect that the side
which goes in second shall follow their innings if they have
scored 120 runs less (not 80 as formerly) than the opposite
side in a three days match, or 80 runs in a two days match, and
power was also given for the in-side on the last day of a match
to declare the innings at an end. This last most important
rule was passed partly in order to prevent drawn matches, and
partly to prevent cricket lapsing into burlesque, as it has on
several occasions. But still the true principle alluded to in the
beginning of the preceding paragraph is difficult to find, and
the awkward question still remains, as it is within the right of
a captain to order his men to get out that he may follow on,
is it not within the opposing captain's right to order his
bowlers to bowl wides to prevent the follow on ? The motive
is the same in each case : one captain desires to follow on
because he thinks that by following on he has a better chance
of winning the match ; the other captain is of the same opinion ;
is it wrong, therefore, for him to try and defeat that object by
bowling wides ? I am not able to say that it is. One captain
to make his side follow on orders his batsmen to play skittles ;
the other captain to prevent a follow on orders his bowlers to
play skittles. Where is the difference in principle? There is a

CAPTAINCY. 203

difference of another kind, which is, that it is easier for a batsman
to get out on purpose without making it appear to be a burlesque
than it is for a bowler to bowl wides or no balls on purpose.
A batsman may run himself out or put his leg in front, and
nobody wonders ; but if a steady bowler bowls three wides
running, the most ignorant spectator sees through the game
at once, and yells accordingly. The problem may be stated
in another way. Is it cricket to sacrifice runs by running your-
self out or knocking down your wicket ? If the answer is in
the affirmative, then state your reason why it is wrong for a
bowler to sacrifice runs by bowling wides or no balls. To a
genuine cricketer it is equally unpleasant to see cricket turned
into burlesque by the batsmen as by the bowlers ; what is
difficult to understand is why the batsmen should be allowed
to practise burlesque and command the applause of the crowd,
while the bowler is hooted and yelled at.

The question is a most difficult one to answer, and perhaps
the most satisfactory solution may be in the direction of
abolishing the follow on altogether, and giving power to close
the innings at any time. Every proposal has its drawbacks,
and the drawback to this is that it gives an additional advan-
tage to winning the toss ; but it is not easy to see that there
is any better solution of the question. — R. H. L.]

In club and county matches a captain whose side is batting
may often have little duties to perform, such as hurrying his
men in after the fall of a wicket and allowing no time to be
wasted, &c. There is nothing so annoying to a keen cricketer
as to see the field waiting three or four minutes whilst some
• local swell ' calmly buckles his pads and saunters sleepily to
the wicket. A captain should see that the next batsman is
always ready to go in directly the preceding one reaches the
pavilion j and a good experienced captain can also give many
valuable hints to the younger members of his team as they sit
waiting for their innings. ' Play your own game, of course ; '
he is the first one to know and realise the truth of the old
saying ; but (and there are often many buts) ' for goodness sake

204 CRICKET.

don't try and hit that curly bowler unless you are on the pitch
of him ; ' ' if you play back to that fast chap you are done;
he is out and away faster than he looks;' 'watch that man
at cover : he's as quick as lightning with his return.' All these
little odds and ends from an old hand are well worth the atten-
tion of a young player ; they all help to give him more confi-
dence and more knowledge and experience, and consequently
make him a better cricketer. And then a captain's eyes must
be sharp to detect any slovenliness in the dress of a batsman.
What a sorry sight it is to see a man going to the wickets with
his pad-straps hanging two or three inches down his legs,
his trousers unfolded and sticking out from behind his pads,
his shirtsleeves hanging loose, and altogether having a gene-
ral air of being a slovenly fellow ! A captain must note this ;
he knows that there are a good many better ways of getting
out than being caught from one's pad-straps or loose trousers
that flap gaily in the breeze, or from one's shirtsleeves that
float round the forearm with so great an expanse of canvas,
looking for all the world like a bishop's sleeve. All these little
things are worth knowing; cricket is a game with a great deal
of luck in it and full of a great many odd chances, and the
sooner a young player realises that he must do all he can to
minimise the chances against himself, the better cricketer he
will become and the more runs he will make.

The duties of a captain in the field are far more onerous
than those out of it. It is here that his good qualities are tested,
his knowledge and judgment of the game put to the proof.
The most difficult task he has to perform is the management of
the bowling. It, of course, occasionally happens that his two
best bowlers are put on, and bowl successfully without a chance
during the whole of the innings. But this is a very exceptional
occurrence, and is but seldom seen in first-class cricket, and
then only when the ground is sticky or crumbled. It is in the
bowling changes and placing that a captain's skill is princi-
pally seen. On a hard fast wicket it is best to begin with fast
bowling at one end and slow at the other. A good overhand

CAPTAINCY.

205

fast bowler on a hard wicket has more chance of making
the ball rise, and getting catches in the slips and at the wickets,
than a slow one ; but it is always well to have different-paced
bowling on at either end, as in this way the batsman's eye does
not get thoroughly accustomed to one pace. The late F.
Morley — in his day the best left-hand fast bowler in England —
and A. Shaw were always individually more successful when
playing together for their county, the fast left hand and slow
right being an excellent variation for the eye of the batsman.
Poor Morley, what a good bowler he was ! In our opinion
he was the best fast bowler we have had in England for a very
long time. He was a good pace, had a beautifully easy left-
handed delivery, just over his shoulder, and was most wonder-
fully accurate in his length. He had a good spin and break-
back on his bowling, and every now and then sent in one that
came with the arm and required a lot of playing. His early
death caused a great gap in the ranks of our professionals, and
was much lamented by every class of cricketers ; for a more
honest and unassuming professional player than Fred Morley
never went into the cricket-field. His knowledge of geography
was not up to his cricket capabilities ; for after a serious col-
lision in the Indian Ocean, on his voyage to Australia in 1882,
a mishap which subsequently ended fatally to him, he said :
1 No more ships for me : I'll home again by the overland route ! '

At the beginning of the innings the two bowlers put on
should both be asked which end suits them best ; if both want
the same, the captain should give the choice to the one on whom,
taking into consideration the state of the ground, he relies most.
The field should be placed according to the style of the opposing
batsman, and in doing this the captain should act with the consent
of the bowler. There are many captains who change the field
from time to time without ever consulting the bowler, who, if
a cricketer, knows better than anyone else where his bowling
is likely to be hit.

No rule can be laid down with regard to the frequency of
bowling changes, except the more the better. A bowler should

206 CRICKET.

never be kept on if he is not getting wickets, and if the batsmen
are playing him with ease. It goes no way towards winning a
match to bowl ten or a dozen short-pitched consecutive maiden
overs. Directly the batsmen seem to have guessed the length
and style of bowling it should be changed, if only for a few overs,
while some new style is tried for a short time. If a long stand
be made, every style of bowling should be quickly tried ; thirty
runs should never be allowed without a change of some sort,
unless the bowling happens to be particularly puzzling to the
batsman, and is being badly played.

As regards the placing of the field, it has already been
said that usually the bowler is best able to guess where his
own bowling is most likely to be hit ; but there are many
things which a captain should recollect, as the suggestions of
a captain in whom his bowlers place confidence are always
accepted readily. He should keep his eye on short-slip, as
this place is, especially on a fast wicket, the most important
of all. There are more good batsmen dismissed at short-slip
and the wicket, on good wickets, than at any other places. It
is an extraordinary fact connected with short-slip that, unless he
has had a great deal of experience, he is continually shifting his
position j one over he will be standing fine and deep and the
next square and near to the wicket. It is the captain's duty,
even more than the bowler's, to see that this does not happen.

On a true hard wicket we never like to see a captain putting
his mid-on or short-leg close in to the batsman, to field what is
called c silly ' mid-on ; the risk of standing near in on a hard
wicket to a batsman who can hit at all is not by any means
slight, and we have on several occasions seen men placed in
this position get very nasty blows. Boyle, the Australian mid-
on, stood about as near in as any man ever did stand; on sticky
grounds he made many catches, on fast grounds he missed many
which if standing further back he would have caught. He not
seldom received nasty injuries, and on cne occasion was laid up
for several weeks with a broken or injured bone in his hand. A
quick active field at mid-on who will run in when he sees the

CAPTAINCY. 2C7

batsman making a quiet forward stroke on the leg side, and
when he observes a leg-side ball kick up higher than usual, is
all that should be required. In a match at Melbourne, in 1882,
we recollect a very amusing little incident in which mid-on
played a prominent part. The Australians were batting, and
Bates, the Yorkshireman, had just dismissed two of their best
bats, McDonnell and Giffen, in two consecutive balls. Bonnor,
who used to congratulate himself, and not without a certain
amount of justification, that he could make mincemeat of our
slow bowling, was the next man in. Somebody suggested that, in
the faint hope of securing a ' hat ' for Bates, we should try a
silly mid-on. Bates faithfully promised to bowl a fast shortish
ball between the legs and the wicket, and said he was quite
certain Bonnor would play slowly forward to it. Acting on the
faith of this, W. W. Read boldly volunteered to stand silly
mid-on for one ball. In came the giant, loud were the shouts
of welcome from the larrikins' throats ; now would the ball soar
over the green trees even higher than yonder flock of twittering
parrots. As Bates began to walk to the wickets to bowl, nearer
and nearer crept our brave mid-on ; a slow forward stroke to a
fast shortish leg-stump ball landed the ball fairly in his hands
not more than six feet from the bat. The crowd would not
believe it, and Bonnor was simply thunderstruck at mid-on's
impertinence ; but Bates had done the hat trick for all that, and
what is more, he got a very smart silver tall hat for his pains.

The duties of captains of the University teams and of the
Public Schools are far more arduous than those of a captain
of a county or a club eleven. At our large Public Schools
the captain is responsible for the selection of the team ; he
may be assisted to a certain extent by a committee, but the
actual filling up of the vacant places in his eleven generally de-
volves on him alone. An energetic and keen boy captain will
usually manage before the close of the summer term to get
together a team of fair merit ; even if the stuff he has to work
upon is inferior in quality, the great amount of time at his
disposal for practice, and the assistance he receives from the

>oS

CRICKET.

school professionals and
masters, ought always to
ensure a keen captain
having a tolerable eleven
before the summer holi-
days begin. It may be
taken as true that a bad
fielding school eleven de-
notes a bad and slack
captain. Whatever may
Eton v. Harrow. be the batting and bowl-

ing material at his dis-
posal, a boy captain can, if he likes, have a good fielding side ;
and if in his school matches at Lord's, or elsewhere, he finds
that he loses the match by slack fielding, he has none to blame
but himself. None of our best county teams can field as boys
can if they are properly taught and kept up to the mark.
There are few men of thirty taking part in the game who can
throw with any effect for more than about thirty or forty yards ;
their arms and shoulders are stiff, and will not stand it, whereas
boys can all throw, and are about twice as active as many of
those whose names at the present time figure prominently in
our leading fixtures.

CAPTAINCY.

209

A school eleven, as indeed every other, only requires four
regular bowlers. ' If you cannot win with four bowlers, you'll
never win at all/ is an old and true saying. But this wants a little
explanation. The four best available bowlers must be played
without regard to their batting powers, and after these four have
been selected let the team be filled up with good batsmen and
fielders, quite irrespective of whether they can bowl or not.
It is an excellent thing for a side that every man should be
able to bowl a bit if wanted, and every boy should be able to
do so, but it is only necessary in choosing the team to play four
men as bowlers only.

Every school eleven should possess a lob -bowler ; if he be
a good one so much the better, but one of some sort there must
be. Lobs have always been most destructive to boys, and even
very indifferent lobs are occasionally very fatal to schools. A
little practice will teach any boy to bowl them fairly ; he must
take a long and rather a quick run, and bowl just fast enough
to prevent the batsman hitting the good-length balls before they
pitch. The high slow lob is generally worthless.

The wicket-keeper must also be trained and coached. He
should be taught the right and the wrong way to stand, and
should practise keeping for a short time every day. And, above
all things, the school wicket-keeper should know that for any-
thing over slow and slow medium bowling he is to have a long-
stop. The number of good wicket-keepers who have been spoilt
by having to perform the office of long-stop as well as their own
is legion. There are no first-class keepers nowadays who put
out their hands on the leg side and draw the ball to the stumps;
they all jump to the leg side in front of the ball to prevent it
resulting in a four-bye, and consequently, even if lucky enough
to take the ball with their hands, they are so far from the stumps
as to make it exceedingly difficult to knock the bails off.

A captain of a University team has not so much to do with
training and coaching his team as a school captain. By the
time men have reached their University eleven they have gene-
rally mastered the elementary principles of the game, and require

2io CRICKET.

more practice and experience, keeping up to the mark rather
than coaching. A captain's duty is consequently to see that his
men engage in constant practice at all parts of the game, and
by showing an example of keenness and energy to inspire his
team with the same qualities. Some men at the University, and
especially those fresh from the restraint of a public school,
occasionally require a few words of advice about the mode
of iife which is necessary for undergoing with success the wear
and tear of a University cricket season. A 'Varsity team has
about six weeks' hard work, and no man can bear the strain of
this if, at the same time, he is keeping late hours and distri-
buting his attentions impartially amongst all the numerous deli-
cacies that adorn the University dinner-tables during the May
term. No strict training is required, thank goodness ! Cricket
does not demand of her votaries the hollow face and attenuated
frame, and too often the undermined constitution, that a long
term of arduous training occasionally results in, especially
to a youth of unmatured strength ; but a cricketer should live
a regular life and abstain at table from all things likely to
interfere with his digestion and wind. Above all else, smoky
rooms should be avoided. A small room, filled with ten or a
dozen men smoking as if their very existence depended on the
amount of tobacco consumed, soon gets a trifle foggy, and the
man who remains there for long will find next morning on
waking that his head feels much heavier than usual, and his eyes
are reddish and sore. A University captain should never hesi-
tate to speak to any of his team on these matters, should he
think warning or rebuke necessary.

The necessity of moderation in drink is happily a thing
which few University cricketers require to be reminded of.
There are many opinions as to what is the best drink for men
when actually playing. By best we mean that which does
least harm to the eye. In hot weather something must be
drunk, and the question is, What? Our experience is that
beer and stout are both too heady and heavy, gin and ginger
beer is too sticky, sweet, &c, to the palate. In our opinion,

CAPTAINCY. 211

shandy-gaff, sherry, or claret, and soda are the most thirst-
quenching, the lightest, and the cleanest to the palate. The
latter consideration is a great one on a hot day at cricket. In a
long innings the heat and the dust are apt to make the mouth
very dry and parched, and a clean drink is especially desirable.

As a rule a 'Varsity captain has not much difficulty in select-
ing the first eight or nine of his team — there are usually that
number that stand out as far and away better than all the others
— but the last two or three places often cause him the greatest
difficulty. There may be two or three men of the same merit
fighting for the last place, inflicting sleepless nights and anxious
thoughts on the captain. He cannot make up his mind, and
possibly remains undecided till the very week before the big
match. A 'Varsity team owes half its strength to playing so
much together. Every man knows and has confidence in the
others, and every man's full merits and the use he may be to
the side are understood by the captain ; consequently, the
sooner the whole team is chosen the better.

Now let us briefly discuss the considerations that should
guide the captain in the choice of his team. And perhaps
the simplest and best way will be to assume that a captain has
to choose the best team in England (our fictitious captain
making the twelfth man on the side). The first thing he
must do is to choose his bowlers, and, as we have said above,
these must be the best four he can get, each one different
from the others in style. He wants a fast bowler to begin
with (and if the match is to be played on a hard wicket he will
probably want two). He has Mold and Lockwood to choose
from, undoubtedly the two best. If he wants one only, he
must be guided by present form ; whichever is bowling the
best must be selected. Let us say he has selected Mold.
This is No. i. No. 2 must be a good left-hand bowler. Peel
and Briggs are perhaps the only two at the present time who
have good qualifications, and we think our captain would pro-
bably fix on Peel as being the best bowler of the two. No. 3
— a medium-pace to fast round-arm bowler — is next wanted.

212

CRICKET.

Lohmann would be the very man, but since ill-health at the
present date prevents his appearance on the field, let our
captain bring into his team as No. 3 Lockwood. Surely he
or Mold, if not both, will prove destructive. No. 4. — Our
captain now wants a right -arm slow bowler accurate enough to
keep down the runs (if it is necessary) on a hard true wicket, and
powerful enough with the ball to take advantage of crumbled
or sticky wickets. Who is he to take ? C. M. Wells of Surrey
and Cambridge, Flowers of Notts, Attewell of ditto, Wain-
wright of Yorkshire, A. Hearne of Kent, are all good names.
The man for this place a few years ago would have been
Alfred Shaw. What a fine bowler he was ! Perhaps his best
performance was in 1875, when for Notts v. the M.C.C. at
Lord's he bowled 162 balls for 7 runs and 7 wickets (bother the
maidens : we don't care how many of them he bowled !), and
amongst these seven wickets were W. G. Grace, A. W. Ridley,
C. F. Buller, and Lord Harris. In the same match, for the
M.C.C., A. W. Ridley with his lobs had a good analysis for the
two innings — 208 balls, 46 runs, and 10 wickets. Our captain
thinks for No. 4 he cannot do better than Wainwright, and we
agree with him. No. 5 — the wicket-keeper — must be G.
McGregor of Cambridge and Middlesex. Alas ! when this
chapter was written for the first edition of this book Pilling was
the wicket-keeper selected, and we then expressed a hope that
his health would allow him to remain behind the stumps for
many years to come. Pilling died a few years ago, but those
who ever played with him will never forget the excellence of
his calm and quiet wicket-keeping, nor the gentleness and
courtesy which graced his whole character. No. 6. — Now our
captain has got to fill up six places ; he has up to the present
provided for ge:ting rid of the opposite side : he now turns his
attention to the selection of his batsmen. W. G. Grace first,
no one disputes. Does someone suggest Shrewsbury? Well,
certainly, during the last seven or eight seasons he has batted
most wonderfully well ; but for winning a match give us W. G.
as our first choice. Shrewsbury may be the best to prevent

A, E. BTODDABT

CAPTAINCY. 213

his side being beaten ; but we want to win, and if one man
stays in the best part of a couple of days for 150 runs there is
a great chance of the game being drawn. We like the man
who makes 150 in three to four hours, and then gets out and
helps to get the other side out afterwards. So our captain
annexes W. G. as No. 6. No. 7, Shrewsbury. No. 8, A. E.
Stoddart, that sound and resolute batsman, who perhaps gives
more pleasure to the spectators than any other living cricketer.
No. 9, Gunn. No. 10. — And now, having selected nine of his
team, our captain must consider what he has and what he has
not got. His team at present consists of W. G. Grace,
Shrewsbury, A. E. Stoddart, Gunn, G. McGregor, Mold,
Lock wood, Peel, and VVainwright. He has therefore the four
■best batsmen in England — Grace, Shrewsbury, Stoddart, and
Gunn — three sound first-class batsmen in Lockwood, Peel, and
VVainwright, a very likely run-getting bat in McGregor, and an
indifferent performer in Mold. He has six bowlers, the four
chosen and Grace and Stoddart. Now what has he in the
field ? Shrewsbury will have to go point, that is evident, as he is
a fairly good point and useless elsewhere owing to his inability
to throw. Grace, Mold, and Lockwood must all be in places
somewhere near the wicket, Grace because of advancing years
and stiffened muscles, the other two because much throwing
would damage their bowling. We have Stoddart and Gunn,
-both excellent fielders and throwers, and these two must be
kept for fielding in the country. Peel and Wainwright are
also two good fielders, but they being bowlers will not probably
be wanted for country fielding except in an emergency. Taken
.as a whole, the nine we have already got are good fieldsmen.
What does our captain then want for the tenth place ? As he
has already got a strong batting, bowling, and fielding side, he
-must look out for a good all-round cricketer who will strengthen
his team at all points. He must take care not to give either
of his last two places tu men who will weaken the side in
fielding ; above all, they must be good in the field. Would
AV. W. Read do for the tenth place ? Unquestionably he is a

214

CRICKET.

magnificent batsman, but where is he to go in the field ?
Shrewsbury is at point ; W. W. Read would have to field
elsewhere then, and, for the same reason as already given for
W. G. Grace, he would seriously cripple the side if required to
go into the country, as undoubtedly he would have to. No.
Our captain rejects W. W. Read, and selects F. S. Jackson of

At wicket after bowling.

Cambridge University and Yorkshire as his tenth man. And as
he is one of our most accomplished and resolute batsman, a fine
field and thrower, and a most useful fast change bowler, surely
his inclusion in the team will add strength to every department
of it. No. ii. — The last place in the team is a difficult task to-
select. The same considerations must guide the choice here

CAPTAINCY. 215

as for the tenth place. If another bowler were required we
would suggest Briggs or A. Hearne as being good bowlers and
all-round good cricketers, but our captain is already playing
four men to bowl, and has in addition the various changes
already mentioned. Is there any really first-class batsman
who, if included in the team, would not injuriously affect the
fielding of the side ? W. W. Read we have already said has to
be rejected. A. Ward of Lancashire is the man, a really sound
batsman and a good field and thrower. Our captain has com-
pleted his task, and a very powerful team he has selected, strong
in batting, bowling, fielding, and throwing, and indeed a
difficult nut for any Australian side to crack.

Such was the selection of the first English eleven about ten
years ago, but a great deal has happened since that date. At
the present moment Stoddart's team in Australia have been so
unsuccessful that though when they started they were reckoned
to be about our best eleven, for the honour of England it must
be hoped that a better is to be found. There can be no doubt
that our bowling is terribly weak, weaker on good wickets than
at any previous time in cricket history, and it seems that we
must go out of the beaten track of bowlers and try a change.
Our representative eleven to-day is chosen with no great
confidence, and many will unfavourably criticise the selection.
There is no difficulty about the batsmen, who shall be MacLaren,
Ranjitsinhji, Gunn, Abel, Jackson and Hayward, and the
wicket-keeper Storer ; but what about the bowlers ? Hirst is
not good enough, Peel and Briggs are past their prime, and
Wainwright on good wickets is harmless. Richardson and
Hearne we still must select, but for the last two we shall select
a veteran and a youngster. Attewell shall be one and the
young Essex amateur Bull shall be the other. During the last
season Bull on hard wickets showed himself to be a slow
bowler with more spin than any other bowler in England, more-
over he is not so well known j while Attewell bowls still the
best length, and can always keep runs down.

One thing will be noticed here, and that is, that for the first

216 CRICKET.

time since 1 86 7 W. G Grace is left out of a representative English
team, and the elements of a tragedy can be found here. For
twenty-nine years he would have been chosen, but the time has
come at last ; but to show his wonderful powers, if he had been
chosen now — and some people would still choose him— it would
largely be for his bowling, which is unlike other bowling, and
would still get wickets.

An old cricketer may here be permitted to drop a tear over
the decadence of the bowling and the superlative excellence of
the grounds that has disturbed the old balance of cricket, and
brought far too prominently forward the second and third rate
batsman.

In the field all captains should be cheery and bright, and
full of encouragement to both fielders and bowlers. A de-
spondent captain, who becomes sad and low when things are
going against him, has a most depressing effect on his men.
Cricket is a game full of so many chances and surprises that
no match is ever lost till the last ball has been bowled, so the
bowlers must be cheered and encouraged and the fielders kept
up to the mark till all is over.

Everything that goes on in the game should be noticed by
the captain. If a bowler forgets to get behind the stumps
when the ball is to be returned to him by a fielder, the captain
should at once call his attention to the fact ; if a fielder keeps
shifting his position over after over without orders, a gentle
reminder must be given; if a fielder throws unmercifully at
the bowler or wicket -keeper when there is no attempt at a run
on the part of the batsmen, he must be spoken to. It is a
bad fault on the part of a fieldsman to knock the poor wicket-
keeper's hands to pieces for no purpose.

If a captain keeps his eye open on all these little things, and
does his best to eradicate them and others of the same nature
from his men, if he is a keen zealous cricketer gifted with a
calm temperament and sound judgment, he may rest assured
that before he has led his men very long he will be the cap-
tain of a good team.

' Guard please, Umpire.'

CHAPTER V.

UMPIRES.

Steel.)

If anyone were to ask us the question
_l * What class of useful men receive most
/oav'S <g, .'■ abuse and least thanks for their ser-
vice?' we should, without hesitation,
reply, * Cricket umpires.' The duties of
an umpire are most laborious and irksome ; they require for their
proper performance the exercise of numerous qualifications, and
yet it is always the lot of every man who dons the white coat,
the present dress of an umpire, to receive, certainly no thanks,
and, too frequently, something which is not altogether unlike
abuse. Nowhere can any notice be found in the history of
cricket of the first appearance of umpires as sole judges of the
game ; and from old pictures, and notably the one at Lord's, it
is evident that, in the early days of cricket, there were no um-
pires. The scoring was done bv the ' notcher,' who stood by
and cut a notch in a stick every time a run was made, and
who also most probably would be the one to decide any point
of dispute that might arise amongst the players. The earliest
•copy of the laws of cricket that we have is dated 1774; the

218 CRICKET.

heading is ■ The Laws of Cricket, revised at the Star and
Garter, Pall Mall, February 25, 1774, by a committee of noble-
men and gentlemen of Kent, Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex,
Middlesex, and London.'

These laws are the foundation of those which now govern
cricket, and in them rules were laid down with regard to
umpires, some of which, with certain modifications, are still
in force. Although these laws, promulgated in 1774, are the
earliest authenticated, there is still in existence a much older
document, though the date is unknown, which contains a few re-
marks on the game, entitled ' Ye game of cricket as settled by
ye cricket club at ye Star and Garter in Pall Mall,' and then it
goes on, ' Laws for ye umpires/ showing that in considerably
earlier days than 1774 umpires were recognised institutions in
the game.

It has always been the custom, till within the last few years,
for each side to chooseMts own umpire, even in the most im-
portant matches, except those played at Lord's and the Oval.
The system of each side providing its own umpire existed till
1883. It thus happened that aged and decayed cricketers were
rewarded by being chosen as umpires to watch over the interests
of their old colleagues.

It was quite impossible for men who were thoroughly im-
bued with a strong spirit of partisanship to remain perfectly
impartial ; however honest and free from suspicion a man>
might be, his opinion, at a critical stage of the game, could;
not fail to be unconsciously biassed in favour of the side with
whose name his own had been long associated. Many merv
became alarmed at the idea of obtaining a reputation for giving
partial decisions, and would go to the other extreme, and decide
against their own side oftener than the facts justified. There
were also men, no doubt— but these were few and far between
— who used their important position to unfairly enhance the
chances of victory for their own side. This system was a bad
one, as it made the position of an umpire so extremely
invidious : but it was not till 1883 that the present practice

UMPIRES. 219

was introduced. At the beginnning of the season each county
now sends up the names of two or more umpires to the secre-
tary of the M.C.C. Then from the list of names nominated
by the different county committees the secretary has to appoint
two umpires for every county match, neither of these two
being the nominees of either of the counties that are playing
in the match. This system works very well and is a very fair
one, as the judges of the game are not now exposed to the
charge of partiality, so frequently made under the old rule,
their interests being connected with neither side. The list of
what may be called the official umpires is almost totally com-
posed of elderly professional cricketers, who, as young men,
were themselves famous players, they are consequently men
who, having spent many years of their lives in the active
pursuit of the game, possess a thorough knowledge of its laws
and practice. And our experience of the way in which those
arduous duties are performed is that, considering the difficulties
of the situation they are placed in, our English umpires, taken
as a body, give good and correct decisions. We think that this
opinion would be indorsed by most leading cricketers.

The difficulties of an umpire are many, and the nice
distinctions he is called upon to draw over and over again
during the course of the match may be gathered from the
fact that bad decisions in first-class matches are not in-
frequent. And yet we adhere to the commendation given
above. It is an absolute impossibility to find an umpire
who will not make mistakes at times. The most likely slip
for him to make is, perhaps, when he is appealed to
for a 'catch at the wicket.' Let us just glance at some of
the difficulties which may, and often do, arise as to this de-
cision. The umpire has to satisfy himself that the bat or the
batsman's hand (but not the wrist) has touched the ball
before it has lodged in the wicket-keeper's hand. There are
often cases where there is no doubt that the bat has touched
the ball; the batsman strikes at the ball and hits it so hard that
the sound of the * click ' may be heard by every fieldsman on

220 CRICKET.

the ground, and even sometimes by the spectators ; and then, of
course, the umpire has no difficulty. But supposing a batsman
in playing forward to a ball just outside the off stump apparently
misses it, and the ball turns after the pitch and, without any
sound or ■ click,' lodges in the wicket-keeper's hand, what
has the umpire to say if appealed to ? He sees the ball turn
after the pitch, and he sees it pass the bat dangerously near, but
he hears no sound ; perhaps in this case no one on the field
but the wicket-keeper knows for certain what has taken place ;
he knows that the ball turned from the pitch, just grazed the
shoulder or edge of the bat, and came into his hands. The
batsman, perhaps, has in his forward stroke touched the ground
with his bat at the very moment the ball grazed the bat. The jar
of his bat on the ground has nullified the effect of the touch
of the ball, and he doubtless considers that if the appeal is
answered against hirn he has met with injustice. In a case
like this the umpire gives, or should give, the batsman the
benefit of the doubt that exists, and No. i bad decision is
chronicled against him by the fielding side. No blame can be
attached to the umpire, he has done his very best to give
a correct decision, but the circumstances have made it abso-
lutely impossible for him to be certain on the point. Again,
it is sometimes next to impossible for an umpire to be sure
whether a ball has just grazed the tip of the indiarubber finger
of a batsman's glove or not ; for often in such a case no
sound can be distinguished. The batsman feels and the wicket-
keeper sees it, but none else in the field knows anything at
all about what has happened. The umpire can see the ball
pass very close to the glove, but whether they have actually
touched he cannot at a distance of twenty-four or twenty-five
yards decide. An umpire may often be deceived, too, in his
vision, if the ball pass the bat quickly and the stroke of the
bat towards the ball has been a rapid one ; he may hear an
ominous 'click' that sounds like a touch, and yet he may
think that he saw daylight between them at the moment the
ball passed the bat. We have more than once in a first-class

UMPIRES. 221

match, in which two good umpires were engaged, struck a ball
fairly hard and seen it lodge in the wicket-keeper's hands, and
heard in answer to a confident appeal, ' Not out ; he was
nowhere near it ! ' and this when everyone in the field heard
the sound, and knew it could only have been caused by the
ball meeting the bat. And again, supposing a slight noise or
1 click ' to be heard just when a ball is passing outside the legs
of a batsman, should the ball be taken by the wicket-keeper,
it is often a most difficult thing for an umpire to be certain
whether the ' click ' has been caused by the bat and the ball, or
the batsman's leg or pad-strap and the ball. The click of the
ball hitting a strap or hard piece of cane in a pad is very like
the sharp sound caused by the bat hitting the ball, and this,
added to the impossibility of the umpire actually seeing whether
a leg ball passes close to the bat or not, makes appeals for leg-
side catches at the wicket extremely hard to answer with any
degree of certainty.

These are a few instances of the many very difficult cases
which an umpire may be called upon to decide at any moment
during a match. Many others will probably occur to the minds
of most of the readers of this chapter, at any rate of those who
have any practical experience of the game. We do not, how-
ever, propose to mention all these cases at present ; some of
them we shall have to refer to later on.

We think enough has been said as to the difficult nature
of the post to show conclusively that it is an impossibility
to find an umpire who will not be liable to give bad verdicts.
It is most unfortunate that all umpires, in addition to having
to bear the heavy weight of knowing that they may at any
minute be called upon to give a decision about which they
are uncertain and consequently liable to err, have also too
often to suffer from the abuse of those who consider them-
selves aggrieved by wrong decisions. The chief principle
that tends to harmonise the game, and make it the quiet
English pastime that it is, is that the umpire's decision shall
be final. It would be impossible to play the game if this

222 CRICKET.

were not so ; how would matches ever be finished satis-
factorily if every batsman had a right to remain at the wickets
until he himself thought he was fairly out ? And yet, though
this principle is universally known as the main one on which
the prosperity of the game depends, we unfortunately find
but too frequently, and even amongst some of the leading
cricketers of the day, a tendency to revile and abuse the un-
fortunate umpire whenever an appeal has been given against
them. If a batsman considers he has been given out wrong-
fully, he has a perfect right, of course, to give his opinion of
what has taken place privately to anyone ; but he has no right
to stand at his wicket wrangling with and abusing the umpire,
nor has he a right to declare publicly to the pavilion on his
return from the wickets that a wrong decision has been
given. Too often one sees a sulky, bad-tempered- looking face
arrive at the pavilion, and in loud tones declare he was not
within a yard of it, or 'it didn't pitch within a foot of the
wicket.' Such conduct is unsportsmanlike and ungentlemanly,
and, what is more, is unfair, as such a statement is a public
accusation made against the professional capacity of an absent
man who has no opportunity of refuting or contradicting it.

First-class amateur cricketers should remember that it is im-
possible for them to pay too much deference to the decisions
of umpires, as it is from them that the standard or tone of
morality in the game is taken. They should ask themselves, if
they wrangle and dispute with umpires in first-class matches
when a large assemblage is present, what will happen in smaller
matches, when there is not the same publicity and notoriety to
restrain the rowdiness which has before now been the result of
a wordy warfare with 'the sole judge of fair and unfair play.'
We admit that there is nothing so disappointing and annoying
to a batsman as to be given out by what is really a bad decision.
Take, for instance, a man who cannot for business reasons get
away as much as he would like to indulge in his favourite game.
He has been looking forward for weeks to a particular match,
perhaps one of the greatest importance; he has been practising

UMPIRES. 223

hard for the last month in his spare time in the evenings after
business hours. The eventful day comes, the time for his
innings arrives, and just when he has settled down with ten or
fifteen to his score, and has begun to find himself thoroughly at
home with the bowling, his hopes are dashed to the ground by
a bad decision. He is maddened with anger and disappoint-
ment for the moment, and every cricketer will heartily sympathise
with him ; but if he allows his feelings to get the better of him,
and indulges in an open exhibition of anger against the umpire,
that man should never play cricket again until he has satisfied
himself that, come what may, he will be able to curb himself
sufficiently to prevent such exhibitions, which act so greatly
against the true interests of the game.

The majority of cricketers, we are happy to say, are not
open abusers of umpires and their decisions, though a consi-
derable number have earned this unenviable notoriety. But by
far the greater proportion of batsmen, though not open cavillers
at the umpire's verdict, always refuse to allow that his judg-
ment, when adverse to them, is correct, and especially in cases
of l.b.w. It is one of the most extraordinary things connected
with the game that, no matter how straight the ball may have
pitched, how low down it may have hit the leg, and how
straight it is going off the pitch to the wicket when stopped
by the opposing leg, there is not one batsman in twenty who will
allow that he is fairly out. ■ The ball pitched off the wicket ; '
1 It would have gone over the wicket ; ' * It was twisting like
anything and would have missed the wicket ; ' and ' How could
it be out? I hit it hard,' are the usual excuses that are made
to a knot of the crestfallen batsman's friends and sympathisers
after his return to the pavilion. Sometimes, no doubt, one or
more of these excuses may be perfectly true, and the batsman
has been unfortunately dismissed by an error in judgment on the
part of the umpire ; but in far the larger number of instances
they are simply sham excuses invented by the player to cover
his own discomfiture. In some cases a batsman may really
believe that the ball would have missed the wicket or did not

224

CRICKET.

pitch straight, and if so he has a perfect right, if he thinks fit,,
to tell his own friends what is opinion is ; but as a rule the
umpire's judgment is right and the batsman's is wrong. The

A clear case.

mere fact of a ball hitting the leg when it is pitched so nearly
straight and would have so nearly hit the wicket as to justify
an appeal to the umpire, shows that the batsman has seriously
erred either in his judgment of the pitch of the ball or in his

UMPIRES. 225

-stroke. He has made a mistake — the ball hitting his leg is a
proof that he has done so ; and yet, with this proof staring
him in the face, he comes out and states positively what
practically comes to this : * The ball must have been very
nearly straight and would have very nearly hit the stumps, or
else the bowler would not have asked ; I mistook the pace, or
the pitch, or the flight of the ball, or all three of them at the
same time ; but now that I have had time to think over it, I
know for certain the ball was not pitched straight or would
not have hit the wicket/ This is the logical conclusion of the
vast number of excuses that are made with regard to decisions
of l.b.w.

When a batsman says that he has hit the ball, it does not
always follow that it is correct, for under certain circumstances
he may imagine he has touched it when in fact he has not done
so. For instance, if he plays forward with the bat close to his
left leg, he may slightly touch his pad or his boot, which may
produce in his mind the same impression as if the bat had
touched the ball. In a forward stroke a slight touch on a hard
ground with the end of the bat will often convey the same
idea. There are one or two well-known cricketers, thoroughly
keen and honest players of the game, whose habit of finding
•fault with umpires' decisions adverse to themselves has often
provoked great amusement. We remember on one occasion tak-
ing part in a match in which one of these critical gentlemen
was playing. Shortly after his innings began he missed a per-
fectly straight ball, and just as it was going to hit the centre of
the middle stump it came into contact with a thick well-padded
leg. He had to go. Shortly afterwards in the pavilion he was
overheard replying in answer to a friend, ' Out ? why, it didn't
pitch straight by a quarter of an inch ! '

What has been said with regard to the duty of batsmen to
abide by umpires' decisions applies equally to bowlers. What
can be worse form than a public exhibition of temper on the
part of a bowler because an appeal is not answered in his
favour ? ' Wha-a-a-t? ' shouts a bowler at the top of his voice,

Q

226 CRICKET.

after a negative answer to an appeal, his eyes glaring at the
poor unfortunate umpire as if he wanted to eat him. ' What
is out, then ? ' Perhaps in the next hall or two the batsman
is palpably out, either bowled or caught. ' How's that, then,
sir?' says the bowler in sarcastic glee, as if his success was
directly due to the former verdict of the umpire. All this
sort of thing is very poor cricket, and not calculated to promote
the true spirit of friendliness which should distinguish every
match if the game is to be enjoyed.

It is in club cricket that there is always the greatest number
of disputes about umpires' decisions. This is owing to the fact
that the only way in which umpires can be procured is by each
side bringing its own. As a rule the professional bowler of
a club stands as umpire in all matches, and this system, as
before mentioned, cannot fail occasionally to cause a little
wrangling. Supposing, for instance, a side has to get half a
dozen more runs to win a match with only one wicket to fall,
and the umpire of the fielding side, by giving the last hope out
leg before wicket, decides the game in favour of his employers,
it must inevitably stir up some angry feelings, especially as a
batsman is scarcely ever known to admit the impeachment of
being fairly out l.b.w. Considering the keenness and anxiety
to win of every cricketer worthy of the name, the fact of serious
disputes being almost unknown is a remarkable instance of the
generosity and manliness of English players.

But it is in bond fide country or rustic matches that there
is most often good reason for finding fault with the decisions of
umpires. We are not speaking of matches between clubs who
can boast enough members to enable them to engage a profes-
sional bowler, level a good large square piece of turf, and erect
a local habitation in the shape of a neat and pretty little pavilion ;
but of matches between clubs in remote villages, where the
village common, rough and uneven as it is, suffices for practice
on the week-day evenings and for matches on Saturday after-
noons, where the only weapons of the batsmen are the old well-
worn and usually desperately heavy club bats, where the village

UMPIRES. 227

barber is the bowler, the village baker the best batsman, and
the umpire, on whom his side relies for victory more than on
all the other men in the village, the publican. There are still
such clubs in existence, though not nearly so many now as in
days gone by. The increased popularity of the game, and the
greater facilities for getting about the country, have caused
many of these old village clubs to become large and well-to-do.
One of the greatest treats that any cricket-lover can have is to
take part in a match between two really primitive village clubs.
The old fast under-arm bowling, now sixty years at least out
of date in first-class cricket, still preserves its pristine efficacy
on the rough uneven turf, and against the untutored bats-
men. The running and the shouting and the general excite-
ment when the parson misses a catch, or the butcher is bowled,
is very pleasing to one accustomed to the stateliness and
publicity of a match at Lord's or the Oval. But the village
umpire is, perhaps, the most interesting personage on the
ground. He is usually a stout elderly man, who, grown too
grey on the head and too thick in the girth to give his side
any more active help in the field, assists in quite as efficient a
manner in his new post. He is generally a genial, jolly sort
of fellow ; devoted to the game, he fondly imagines that he
is an infallible judge of every point that can arise in it, though
really he is wofully ignorant of the whole subject. He is,
however, looked up to by the whole village as an authority
whose opinion cannot be disputed ; probably he has once in
his life, many years ago, been to Lord's, and has there, while
watching Carpenter, Hayward, and George Parr, laid up a store
of information connected with the play of great cricket cele-
brities which has sufficed ever since to maintain his reputation
as a cricket savant.

Before the beginning of a match, he may be seen diligently
rolling the stubborn ground with a small hand-roller, in the
hopes that some of the numerous adamantine hillocks may be
compressed to something like a level with the surrounding
dales and valleys.

Q2

22 8 CRICKET.

After this labour of love has been ineffectually bestowed he
proceeds to mark the creases. And what marvellous works of
art they are when finished ! Long crooked lines, some three or
four inches in thickness, suggest that straightness and neatness
have been sacrificed to the desire of using as much whitening
as possible. When it is time for the match to begin, he marches
solemnly to the wicket, with a bat over his shoulder, chaffing
and joking with the players as he goes. Then, what numerous
appeals are made to him ! Catches at the wicket, l.b.w., runs out,
all follow one another in quick succession. His decisions are
always given with deliberation and evident doubt, and often are
preceded by questions to the batsman, such as, * Did yer 'it it,
Jack ? ' or, * Whereabouts did it touch ye ? ' Thus the length of
a man's innings is often in the same ratio as his moral obliquity
in concealing or perverting the truth. However, there is
wonderfully little disputing, the good-natured batsmen being
quite willing to abide by the fiat of the great authority ; and if
decisions are given rather more against than for them, they are
induced to keep quiet by the knowledge that they have their
own village judge at the other end, who, when the time comes,
will do his best to equalise matters.

One of the most primitive rustic matches we ever saw
was on a village common in Hampshire. We always look
back to that match as one which produced more real fun
than any we have ever taken part in. The village umpire
there, a jolly good-natured old man, but absolutely ignorant
of the laws of cricket, caused us the greatest merriment during
the whole day. In addition to his official post as umpire, he
was the village caterer at all public entertainments, and con-
sequently supplied luncheon at all the matches. It was
evident his thoughts in the field were divided between the
responsibilities of his two duties — at least we inferred so by his
occasionally allowing the bowler to bowl as much as ten or

more balls in an over, and giving as his reason, ' If Mr.

doant have a bit o' exercise, he woant relish my steak pie.
O'im vaamous for steak pies, yer know, sir,' he added by way of

UMPIRES. 229

apology for introducing the subject. This worthy old umpire
gave certainly the most astonishing decision we ever saw. A
man was batting at one end who was evidently one of the
swells of his side. Owing to the roughness and slope of the
ground, the slow bowling that he had to play was going about

* You must go, Jack.'

in all directions. Now a ball, pitching nearly a wide to leg,
would twist in and pass the wicket on the orT side, and then
one pitched wide on the off would hit or pass the legs of the
batsman, who, after many wild and futile attempts to strike
this, to him, peculiar style of bowling, determined, as a last

230 CRICKET.

resource, to treat it with supreme contempt. He therefore,
whenever the ball pitched wide, got in front of his stumps,
turned round, and presented the back portion of his person to
the bowler. The umpire watched these proceedings with a
somewhat perplexed smile on his broad good-humoured face,
but said nothing. Shortly, a ball that pitched a couple of feet
on the leg side, twisted in, and struck the batsman on the
seat of his trousers. This caused some laughter amongst the
lookers-on, and when the mirth had subsided the umpire
walked slowly a few yards down the pitch and addressed the
batsman thus : ■ Why, Jack, that ain't cricket. O'im a pretty
favourable umpire as a rule, you know, Jack : but when a man
stops the ball with that, he must be out. You must go, Jack.'
Nothing would induce the injured batsman to remain ; we
implored him to stay, but no ; he had been given out and was
going out ; and for the rest of the day he enjoyed the impor-
tance of being an injured man — an importance enhanced by
the opinions of his admirers that, had he not suffered an
injustice, the village scorers would have had on that occasion
anything but a holiday.

The well-known crack player who now and then plays in
village cricket matches usually enjoys perfect immunity from
the vagaries of the village umpire ; in fact, he runs only a very
slight chance of ever being out at all, unless he is palpably
caught or his stumps knocked down. The old style of umpire
that we have attempted to describe is immensely delighted
at the prospect of seeing what he calls 'real cricket,' and
whether the ' swell ' is on his side or against it, he fully
makes up his mind that it will be no fault of his if spectators
are not treated to an exhibition of the real article. The
bowlers may be hoarse with appealing, but the umpire remains
obdurate, and it is with real sorrow he at last sees the great
man go.

We remember on one occasion coming across a strange
umpire in Scotland. It was in a country (very country) match.
The writer was batting, and his co-partner at the other end was a

UMPIRES. 231

well-known sporting baronet. The latter was the continual cause
of appeals both from the bowler and wicket-keeper for l.b.w.'s
and catches at the wicket. All were answered in the batsman's
favour, much to the disgust of the fielders. Thinking that the
latter were really being treated rather badly, the writer ventured
humbly to ask the umpire whether the last appeal (an enormous
thigh right in front of all three stumps to a straight one) had
not been a very near thing. * Lor bless you, sir,' was the reply,
1 1 have been his valet for fifteen years, and I dussn't give him
out ; he gets awful wild at times.'

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing to umpires as well
as everyone else. A ball in a country match hit the batsman's
leg, skied up in the air, and was caught by point. ' How's that
for leg before wicket ? ' shouted the bowler. ' How's that for a
catch ? ' said point. The bewildered umpire had not an idea
what it was, but no doubt he thought such loud appeals meant
something, and so said, ' Out' ' What for ? ' said the batsman ;
'it didn't pitch anything like straight, wouldn't have hit the
wicket, and what's more, never touched it.' ' Out,' said the
nonplussed umpire ; ■ it hit you below the wrist. 1 This story,
although told of an ignorant umpire, illustrates a principle
which the best umpires should have in mind, but which many
of them seem never to have learnt, or else to have forgotten, and
that is, never give your reasons for a decision. This is a golden
rule for all umpires. An umpire is engaged to say ' Out ' or
1 Not out ' when appealed to, and not to state the reasons
which have induced his verdict. When a man adds to his de-
cision, ' It didn't pitch straight,' ■ Your toe was up in the air,'
'Your bat was over the crease but not on the ground,' it
has a tendency to create useless discussion and waste of time.
Besides, an umpire may occasionally be right in his verdict,
but may be brought to grief by explaining his reasons. For
instance, suppose an appeal for a l.b.w., and the umpire says
1 Not out.' The wicket-keeper and the bowler may know that
the point for decision is whether the ball pitched straight or
not ; the umpire adds, for example, ' The ball would nave gone

232 CRICKET.

over the wicket.' Well, this may be so, but both the wicket-
keeper and the bowler think not ; if the verdict had been-
a decided ' Not out,' both of these two would have been satis-
fied — a doubtful point had been given against them, no one
was to blame for it, better luck next time, &c. &c. But since
the umpire has been guilty of stating reasons, which, according
to them, are not satisfactory, he has branded himself with a bad
decision in the eyes of the fielding side.

Some umpires — in fact, the majority of them — have a habit
of putting their hand and arm in the air and pointing to the
skies when they give a man out. A verdict propitious to the
batsman is given by a solemn ' Not out,' but one adverse by an
annoying silence and a most inappropriate wave of the arm
in the air. It would be far more to the purpose if the finger
were pointed downwards instead of upwards, as the batsman's
hopes are shattered. We never like to leave the wickets till
the umpire's voice is heard. The arm may go in the air
involuntarily, or the umpire be surprised into a spasmodic
upward arm-jerk ; but a good honest * Out ' can never be
doubted.

With regard to the qualifications that a man should possess
before he can hope to perform satisfactorily to himself and others
the duties of an umpite, the first essential is that he must
have been at one time a good cricketer. By good we do not
mean first-class, or that he must have had his name amongst
the list of the best players of his time ; but he must have been
fairly proficient in the game, and must have had a large practical
experience. The qualifications of a good judge are, no doubt,
of a different nature from those for a good advocate, but before a
man can sit on the Bench he must have passed through the
wear and tear of the bar, and had, when there, varied experi-
ences in the practice of law. So with an umpire ; it does not
absolutely follow that a first-rate player will make a good
umpire, but it does follow that a man who has had great
practical experience in the game will be better qualified to
decide the nice points that arise than one who has only made

UMPIRES. 233

cricket a theoretical study. Assuming that a man has sufficient
knowledge of the game to stand as umpire, he must possess
quick and keen sight, a good sense of hearing, powers of rapid
decision, and last, but not least, he must be very fond of
cricket. The necessity of the first two of these qualifications
for good umpiring is apparent. For most decisions a good
power of sight only is required, but in appeals for catches at
the wicket an umpire has both to be guided by his eyes and
his ears. Many cases occur where the ball and the bat pass
each other with such rapidity that it is impossible for an um-
pire to be certain from his eyes alone that they have touched
one another, and he must then, to a great extent, be guided
by what he has heard. Both sight and sound must help him
to come to his conclusion, and he must give no decision if
it is inconsistent with the effect of either of these senses on his
mind.

No umpire should ever be chosen to stand in first-class
matches unless he possesses the perfect use of these two senses.
More than once in important matches we have seen an umpire
with his ears stuffed full of cotton-wool. This, no doubt, was an
excellent preventive against catching cold in the head, but it
was a monstrous thing to see the result of a match of some
interest depending upon the amount of sound that could pene-
trate through two or three layers of wadding.

An umpire should possess powers of quick decision, because
every time his opinion is asked he has to give it at once, and
with firmness. If he shows any signs of doubt or hesitation,
he destroys the confidence which it should be his constant en-
deavour to see reposed in him and his judgment.

An umpire has to concentrate every particle of his attention
on the game, every minute of the five or six hours he is in the
field has to be devoted to studiously watching every ball that
is bowled and every incident in the play. Once let his attention
be distracted, or his interest lessened in what is going on around
him, and he will make a mistake. The powers of concentration
necessary in an umpire are so great, and are required for such

234 CRICKET.

a lengthy period, that it is impossible to find them in any man
unless he is imbued with a thorough love of cricket. It is this
devotion to the game which enables our umpires to fix their
attention on it for such long weary hours, in all conditions of
weather, and in our most important matches, with such a heavy
weight of responsibility upon their shoulders. Firm, free, and
unbiassed in their judgment, our English umpires have the
satisfaction of knowing that unbounded confidence is placed
in them by the players and the public, and that never in the
history of modern cricket has there been the faintest whisper
of suspicion against their integrity or fair fame.

And now let us discuss the actual duties of an umpire con-
nected with the game. The two umpires before the beginning
of the match should be present when the ground is chosen and
measured. By rights, it is the duty of the umpires actually to
choose the pitch ; but this is seldom done, as so much care
and attention is spent on all grounds at the present day by the
ground-men, that the wicket intended to be used has been
generally prepared with diligence for two or three days previous
to the match. They should, however, be present, and see that
the ground is the proper measurement,- and that the stumps
are so fixed in the ground as to satisfy the sixth rule of the
game — namely, * Each wicket shall be eight inches in width, and
consist of three stumps. . . . The stumps shall be of equal
and sufficient size to prevent the ball from passing through,
twenty-seven inches out of the ground. The bails shall be each
four inches in length, and when in position on the top of the
stumps, shall not project more than half an inch above them.
Umpires should be very careful to see that these provisions are
complied with both with regard to the width of the wicket and
the ball passing between the stumps.' We have often seen
stumps in a first-class match so wide apart that the ball would
pass between them without dislodging the bails; over and over
again have we taken hold of the ball and passed it between them
to show the umpire that the stumps were too far apart ; but
we have never seen a bowled ball pass between the stumps

UMPIRES. 235

without removing the bails in a first-class match, though this
often happens in smaller matches. Umpires should themselves
measure the ground between the wickets ; groundsmen, as a
rule, do this, but they occasionally do it in a careless and
slovenly fashion, which may result in the distance being a foot
too short or too long. The slightest difference in the usual
distance of twenty-two yards from wicket to wicket makes a
great difference to the bowler, and so it should invariably be
checked by the umpires themselves using the chain.

Before the match begins, the umpires should settle what
the boundaries are to be. This, of course, will only apply
to those places where the boundaries have not been finally
settled, as at Lord's and the Oval and other well-known
grounds. The usual practice, however, is for the visiting team
to accept the boundaries that are customary on the ground;
but should there be any dispute on this subject, it must be
settled by the umpires. Having arranged all preliminaries
connected with the pitch and the boundaries, the umpires
should go to the wickets punctually to the very minute agreed
upon for beginning play. A vast amount of time is on many
grounds lost owing to unpunctuality ; and if the umpires
appear on the ground at the appointed time, irrespective of
whether the players are ready or not, it has a good effect. The
umpire at the bowler's end, when the bowling is over the wicket,
should stand as near as he can to the wicket without incon-
veniencing the bowler in his action ; he should stand sideways
fronting the bowler, but with his head looking over his right
shoulder down the pitch. The object of this attitude is that as
small a surface of his body as possible should be permitted to
be in the line of sight of the batsman and the ball. There are
some umpires who stand as much as five or six yards from the
wicket, no doubt under the impression that so long as they are
in a straight line with the two wickets they can see everything;
but this is a mistake, as it is evident that the nearer the umpire
stands to the wicket the better he can see and judge the points
that arise for his decision. Before umpires were required to

236 CRICKET.

wear the long white coats which now render them so conspicu-
ous, their dark ones often greatly interfered with the batsman's
view of the ball, but now this inconvenience has been done
away with, and the batsman can never rightly complain of his
sight being obscured by the umpire.

The umpire should stand perfectly still at the moment the
ball is delivered; he must not even move his head, as any moving
object directly behind the ball, and especially as near to it as
the umpire is standing, may distract the batsman's sight from
the ball. He must watch the bowler's hindmost foot to see if
it touch or cross the bowling crease, in which case it is a ' no
ball,' and must almost at the same time watch the bowler's hand
and arm to guard against any infringement of the rule against
throwing.

The rule with regard to ' no balls ' is, ' The bowler shall
deliver the ball with one foot on the ground behind the bowl-
ing crease, and within the return crease, otherwise the umpire
shall call no ball. , The umpire must, therefore, call ' no ball '
if the hindmost foot of the bowler is, at the moment of delivery,
even touching the bowling or return creases. This rule makes
it important that the bowling crease should be neatly and cor-
rectly marked. The rule with regard to the bowling crease
says that it ' shall be in a line with the stumps, 6 ft. 8 in. in
length, &c.,'but says nothing about the width of it. We must,
therefore, infer from the words ' in a line ' that the bowling
crease should not be of greater width than the thickness of the
stumps. If it is drawn of this thickness only, it is a very
narrow line, but is correct according to a common-sense inter-
pretation of the rules 7 and n ; for supposing, as is often the
case, the crease is thicker than the width of the stumps, it
would then be a manifest injustice to 'no ball' a bowler because
his hindmost foot has just touched the edge of it. These two
rules evidently mean that the hindmost foot shall be behind the
line of the wicket when the ball is delivered. If the crease is
too thick, the foot may just touch it and yet not transgress the
spirit of the two rules taken together.

UMPIRES. 237

With regard to the necessity, laid down in rule 11, for the
hindmost foot to be on the ground . . . when the ball is
delivered, we think umpires may take it as settled that it is
quite an impossibility for a bowler to deliver a ball with this
foot off the ground. Let anyone try to bowl with only the
left foot on the ground, and he will at once see the practical
impossibility of doing so. A 'no ball' should be called
quickly and distinctly directly the ball has been delivered;
an umpire must not shout ' No ball ' as soon as he sees the
foot touch or overlap the crease, but must wait till the ball is
actually bowled ; otherwise he may land himself in a difficulty
should the bowler stop and not deliver the ball. We remember
an umpire, who is generally supposed to be about the best in
England, making this mistake in 1886 ; he called a 'no ball '
so very prematurely that it gave the bowler time to stop before
the ball left his hand.

A wide ball is one that, in the opinion of the umpire, is not
within reach of the striker. It therefore does not make the
slightest difference where it pitches so long as, in the umpire's
opinion, it has never been within the batsman's reach. Some
people entertain the idea that if a ball has pitched fairly straight
but afterwards twisted beyond the batsman's reach, it should
not be called wide; but this is wrong, as the rule says positively
that { if it is not within reach of the striker, the umpire shall
call "wide ball." ' It is often a very nice point as to what is
or is not within reach of the striker, and umpires' opinions vary
on this head. We think the true reading of the rule is that, on
the off side, the batsman's reach should not be limited to what
he can only reach when standing still in his original position,
but should be extended to what he can conveniently and com-
fortably reach with either leg across his wicket, say for ' cutting '
or 'off driving.' On the leg side we think a ball should be
called ■ wide ' if the batsman in the ordinary swing of the
arms and bat for a leg hit could not reach it. 1 It thus follows,

1 A batsman's reach is further on the off than the leg side, because he has
his legrs to put across the wicket to help him on the former side.

238 CRICKET.

that a ball may be a 'wide' on the leg side which would not be
one if at an equal distance from the batsman on the off side. If
the ball passes so high over the batsman as to be out of his
reach, it is a 'wide.' This very rarely occurs, but umpires
should remember that if the batsman can touch this ball by
holding the bat in the air, it is not a 'wide.' It does not
follow that it is a ' wide ' because the ball goes over the head of
the batsman without being played at — most batsmen refuse to
strike at such a ball because of the attendant risk — but it must
be so high that the batsman cannot reach it when holding the
bat in the usual manner.

When the bowler is bowling round the wicket the umpire
should stand exactly in the same place as he does for ' over
the wicket ' bowling, but should of course front the bowler's side
of the wicket. He should be watchful to see that the bowler
keeps within the limit of the return crease ; if he touches
this with his hindmost foot, it is a ' no ball ' and should be
instantly 'called.' Round-the-wicket bowlers often have a
tendency to bowl as far as possible round the wicket, and as
this is done with the object of making their bowling more
difficult, umpires should be careful to keep them within the
prescribed limits. There is rather a slackness in many umpires
about calling ' no ball ' because the return crease is touched j
but they ought to be quite as particular in this respect as in
the case of the bowling crease — in fact, even more so, as a ball
delivered an extra inch from the line between wicket and wicket
makes more difference to the batsman than one delivered an
inch nearer than usual.

The principal duties of the umpire at the bowler's end are
those we have discussed — viz. calling ' wides ' and ■ no balls,'
answering decisions for leg before wicket and catches at the
wicket — and there are some few other points he may occasion-
ally be called upon to decide. Before mentioning these, let
us see what the laws say with regard to the several duties of
the two umpires. Law 47 says, ' The umpire at the bowler's
wicket shall be appealed to before the other umpire in all

UMPIRES. 239

cases except in those of stumping, hit wicket, run out at the
striker's wicket, or arising out of law 42 (the law relating to any
part of the wicket-keeper's person being in front of the wicket,
or to his taking the ball before it reaches the wicket) ; but in
any case in which an umpire is unable to give a decision, he
shall appeal to the other umpire, whose decision shall be final.'
It will thus be seen that the umpire at the bowler's end must
be appealed to first in all but the excepted cases ; he therefore
has to decide all questions relating to catches ; but if he is
uncertain, or from some cause has been prevented from seeing
the circumstances of the catch, he may appeal to the other
umpire, whose decision shall be final. It is sometimes a very
difficult thing for an umpire to be certain whether or not the
fielder's hands have got under the ball before it has touched
the ground ; if he is at all doubtful, he should at once appeal
to the other umpire, whose position may probably have enabled
him to get a better view of the ' catch.' A difficulty occasion-
ally arises in connection with what is commonly called a ' bump'
ball. A bump ball is one which the batsman, playing hard on
to the ground and close to the bat, causes to bound in the
air. Should it be caught by a fielder, a question often arises
whether it touched the ground after the bat or not. Sometimes
these decisions are hard to arrive at with certainty, and es-
pecially so if the ground is dry and dusty and the batsman in
striking stirs up a cloud of dust, as the actual contact between
the bat and the ball is then partially, if not altogether, obscured
from the umpire's view. Perhaps the most historical decision
on this point is one that was given in the University match of
1 88 1. C. F. H. Leslie, the well-known old Rugbeian, had just
begun his innings ; A. F. J. Ford was bowling. Leslie made
a half-hit at a well-pitched-up ball, and raised a cloud of dust
around him ; the ball came straight back to the bowler, who
caught it, and Leslie instantly left his wicket for the pavilion,
evidently under the impression that he was fairly out. Before
he had reached the entrance of the pavilion circumstances arose
which caused the other batsman then at the wickets to appeal

240 CRICKET,

to the bowler's umpire for a decision as to whether the catch
had been made off a * bump ' ball or not. This umpire, not
being able to give a decision, appealed to the other one, who,
after some discussion with his colleague, decided in the affirma-
tive, and consequently Leslie resumed his innings.

When an umpire has to decide the question of a ' bump '
ball or not, he must be guided by its length, its flight from the
bat, and the way in which the latter has been used ; the state
of the ground sometimes must be considered, as it is unlikely,
when the turf is in a soft, spongy state, that a ball will bounce
high or far from it.

As will be seen by the latter part of law 47 (just quoted),
the bowler's umpire may occasionally be appealed to on matters
which are primarily in the discretion of his colleague. If the
latter cannot decide, for instance, a question of stumping, which,
by the law, must first be referred to him, he may appeal to the
bowler's umpire. This power of appealing in cases of stump-
ing is rarely used — in fact, we have never seen or heard of a
single case of its exercise, though we once saw a case arise in
which an appeal might very rightly have been made. In the
University match of 1878, A. H. Evans was batting, he ran out
to a slow, hit at it with all his might, missed it, and let the bat
slip out of his hands. The ball was taken, and the wicket put
down by the Cambridge wicket-keeper, Alfred Lyttelton; but
the umpire had seen the bat flying straight at his head, and not
wishing to risk a broken crown by sticking to his post, had
fallen down with his head averted from the wicket, and was
consequently unable to give a decision on a case which he had
not seen. Evans was some three or four feet out of his ground
when the bails were knocked off, but as no decision was given
against him he of course remained at the wickets. This is
exactly the case which this part of rule 47 is framed to meet;
the other umpire would have been quite able to have given a
decision on a plain case like this, and no doubt would have
done so had there been an appeal made to him.

Under law 43 many points arise for the decision of the

UMPIRES. ■ 24I

bowler's umpire, two of which merit discussion here. This law
says, ' The umpires are the sole judges of fair and unfair play \
of the fitness of the ground, the weather, and the light for play;
all disputes shall be determined by them, and if they disagree
the actual state of things shall continue.' But law 46 says, ' They
(the umpires) shall not order a batsman out unless appealed to
by the other side.' So that no umpire can really decide any-
thing, except wides, no balls, and boundary hits, unless an
appeal is made to him. As will be seen from law 43, appeals
may be made on the fairness or otherwise of the play. These
appeals happily are seldom made, but circumstances may arise
in which it is the duty of the umpire to give his opinion under
this rule. For instance, should the bowler so cut up the pitch
with his feet as to place the batsman at a disadvantage when
opposed to the bowling from the other end, it would be the duty
of the umpire, if appealed to, to say that such tearing or cutting
up was unfair, whether done accidentally or not. When the
Hon. Ivo Bligh's team was in Australia in 1882-3, an appeal
was made to the umpire by one of this team as to whether the
way in which Spofforth was cutting up the wicket was fair or
unfair. There was no doubt the wicket was being seriously
damaged; the appealing batsman of course made no imputation
of intentional unfairness against Spofforth, but only asked for
a decision whether such damage was fair to the batting side.
The umpire asked to see the soles of Spofforth's shoes; these
were held up for public view, and as they only had about one
spike each, it was decided that there was nothing unfair. It,
is, however, a well-known fact that when ground is cut up, it is
done by the force with which the boot is brought on to the
ground; the edge of the sole is often answerable for the damage,
and the number of spikes that are worn is quite beside the
question.

As we have before noted, the umpire at the striker's end
has to decide some few points ; his duties, however, are not
nearly so onerous as those of his colleague at the other end.

R

242 * CRICKET.

They are decisions on stumping, hitting wicket, running out,
and matters arising under law 42. This umpire should stand
quite square with the wicket, so near as to enable him to see
accurately all that happens without placing himself in any risk
from a hard square hit. He should take care that the popping
crease is clearly visible to him : if it has got worn out and
difficult to see, a pinch of sawdust placed at the end of it
will give him its correct line. It is always best, however, when
either of the creases has become indistinct to send for the
whitening and re-mark it Stumping rarely gives much difficulty
to the umpire ; his position is such that he ought always to be
able to see whether the bails are off before the bat or foot are
within the line. If the toe of the batsman is on the crease
and no part of his foot within it, of course the decision must be
against the batsman. If the batsman relies on his bat being in
his ground when the bails are off, the umpire should recollect
that the bat must be in his hand according to law 19. We
recollect once seeing in a county match a batsman after a
tremendous futile swipe fall prostrate outside his ground with
the force of the unsuccessful stroke ; he was lying some two
feet out of his ground, and his bat was within the crease
with the handle resting on his shoulder when the wicket was
put down. The umpire wrongly gave him ' not out,' no doubt
thinking he was justified in doing so as the bat was connected
with a portion of the batsman's body. The bat must, however,
be in his hand to prevent a decision against him, unless ' some
part of his person be grounded within the line of the popping
crease.'

It is generally easy for an umpire to see when a batsman
hits his wickets. The ball is usually played by the bat, but
the batsman coming further back than usual, either from a mis-
take in his judgment as to the pitch or from originally standing
too near, strikes the wicket. An umpire, however, must keep
a sharp look on the wicket-keeper's feet and hands, and see
that the fall of the bails is not due to any of these coming
in contact with the wicket. It is possible for a wicket-keeper

UMPIRES.

243

to dislodge the bails with the tip of his gloves or the point of
his boot, and yet be unconscious that he has done so. An
umpire must also keep his eyes open to guard against any
chance of this being intentionally done. Fortunately there
is now no ■ hanky-panky ! play in our first-class cricket ; but
there have undoubtedly been cases where a smart wicket-
keeper has been unable to resist the temptation of removing
the bail with foot or glove when in the act of taking the ball.
If any part of the batsman's person hits the wicket ' in playing

Stumped.

at the ball,' it is sufficient to justify a decision against him. If
his hat blow off and knock the bails off when he is in the act
of playing, he is out ; several instances are on record of this
unfortunate method of dismissal. In the season of 1886 there
was an instance recorded of a man knocking one of his bails
off with a piece of the string that had been wrapped round
the blade of his bat ; he was, of course, given out. A difficulty
sometimes arises as to whether the bail was knocked off in the
actual stroke at the ball, or whether it was in the action of the
bat preliminary or subsequent to the stroke.

244 CRICKET.

The duties of umpires are so various, and the decisions
they are called upon to give are so numerous, that it is an im-
possibility to discuss them all. Every umpire should remember
that when an unforeseen incident occurs in the game he must
use his common sense for its solution, and then he will not go
far wrong.

245

CHAPTER VI.

FIELDING. 1

(By the Hon. R. H. Lyttelton.)

i
Rev.

ERTAIN natural
qualifications are
indispensable to en-
able any cricketer to be-
come a great fieldsman.
The highest reputation that
can be attained by any pains-
taking cricketer who is not
endowed with these qualifica-
tions is that of being a good

We are largely indebted to an article on this subject by the Hon. and
E. Lyttelton, which appeared in Lillywhitt's Annual for 1881.

Saving the four.'

246 CRICKET.

safe man. When you hear this epithet, you may take it for
granted that reference is made to a man who may cover him-
self with glory if he has to field a ball within a certain more
or less limited space from the spot where he has taken his
position, who is generally in the habit of holding a feasible
catch, and who will seldom disgrace himself.

In other words, a safe field is generally a slow one, is lacking
in electricity and rapidity of movement, and, as batsmen get to
know this, the short run is attempted with impunity. Slow fields
are earnestly advised to practise throwing j for their defects are
less apparent when fielding a long distance from the wicket, and
the non-observant spectator does not notice that the ground co-
vered at a distance from the wicket by a slow field is very small
compared to that commanded by some space-covering field
like Palairet, Sugg, or J. Douglas.

Again, let safe and slow fields, the roadsters among the
thoroughbreds, try and get a respectable knowledge of the
game ; for if they obtain this they can in a great measure dis-
count their deficiencies. A good judge of the game gets to
know by instinct where a batsman is likely to hit certain balls,
and so does the observant fieldsman. He will consequently shift
a few yards or so from his original position to the spot towards
which his instinct tells him the ball is likely to be hit ; and
he will thereby earn the enviable reputation of being a man
who is frequently in the right place. It used to be said of the
immortal French tennis player, Barre, that he himself did not
run after the ball, but the ball ran after him ; his genius told
him where his opponent was going to hit the ball, and he planted
himself accordingly. In like manner will a fieldsman so plant
himself ; and it is important to a slow field to try and acquire
this instinct, for if the fieldsman is not on a certain spot of ground
before the hit is made, his slowness will prevent his getting there
afterwards, especially if the hit is hard and the ground fast.

Directions may now be given on the knotty points, * Where
ought I to stand ? ' ' When ought I to back up ? ' * Which
end ought I to throw to ? ' and a few others ; for this reason,

FIELDING.

247

that many a good fieldsman might be better if he knew where
to place himself and precisely what to do.

First, then, it may be safely asserted that a concentrated
attention on every ball is a sine quci non of even decent field-
ing. Men often think that if they are simply looking at the
batsman they are doing all that is required. But this is not so.
There is a difference of opinion as to whether the eyes should
be fixed on the batsman, or should follow the ball .as it leaves
the bowler's arm ; this is a matter of dispute, our own opinion
being in favour of the former plan. But each man should stand
as if the next ball were sure to come to him, not only as if it

.. ^ \.'£,\f.$*-r<s

Backing up.

might come to him. One can see a whole eleven doing it now
and then when there are (say) six runs wanted to tie and seven
to win. They are all adopting for a few minutes the position
they ought to adopt always — in short, the position in which great
fieldsmen like Wainwright and Burnup are found invariably.
We will first take a few general points, and then the separate
places in the field.

BACKING UP.

This is a matter which demands the earnest consideration
of all who field within thirty yards of the wicket. There
ought always to be two men backing up ; never more.

248 CRICKET.

Nine times out of ten they will be superfluous, but the tenth
time they will save a 'four overthrow,' and all the chagrin,
demoralisation, and tearing of hair connected with that disaster.
No fieldsman can throw his best unless he is confident about
the backing up, and the man who ought to be abused when an
overthrow occurs is not the fieldsman who throws the ball,
but the men who should be backing up and are not Again —
and let young fields take heed to this — there must be ten yards
between the two men backing up, and also between the one
nearest the wicket and the wicket This gives them room to
stop the wildest throw, but does not give the batsmen time to
run if the ball passes the wicket. If the fields stand close
together, two are as bad as none, and get in each other's way.
Rules for the different fields we give in dealing with them
separately.

THROWING.

This is, of course, a gift of nature, not a result of art.
Few men can throw far, but everyone can throw quickly, and
that is what prevents batsmen from running. There is a
moment which decides a batsman whether he can manage to
secure another run or not. It is just when a fieldsman, having
run some way after the ball, and having his back turned to
the wicket, is stooping to pick up preparatory to throwing in.
Now any good judge of running, after seeing a man go through
this process once, knows exactly how long it will take. Every
nerve should be strained to make it as brief as possible: a little
extra sign of life and rapid movement will make the batsman
hesitate a moment, and the run is lost. The engraving on p. 245
shows what in our opinion is the proper way to pick up a ball
going away. The field is not trying to catch the ball up as far as
his feet are concerned. He is stretching his hand forward to
pick it up, and when he has got it into his hand he will throw it
rather over his left shoulder to the wicket. Again, supposing a
run is being snatched. The field should then remember that
to throw in slowly is of no possible use. The throw may be, in

FIELDING.

249

other respects, as perfect and as straight as Robin Hood's arrow,
but the batsman will be safe over the crease, and such a throw
becomes an example of showy drawing-room cricket, which is
sure to be applauded by the spectators, as well as the reporters,
but is useless to the side. If every field picked up and threw
in as quickly as his knee
joints and the state of his
arm allowed him, a very
considerable percent-
age of the runs usually
scored would be saved.
It is commonly as-
serted by many of those
supporters of the game
who, having laid down
their arms, devote them-
selves for the rest of their
lives to laying down the
law, that nobody ought
ever to throw down the
wicket. This is certainly
wrong. We do not mean
that everybody ought
always to throw at the
wicket, but only that
some fields, under cer-
tain circumstances, ought to do so. These circumstances occur
when it is the only chance of running a man out. The ball
should be hurled violently at the bails, and if an overthrow
occurs, the wise captain will abuse those who ought to be
backing up, and not the thrower. But to throw hard at the
wicket when there is no chance of running a man out is
strongly to be condemned ; it may produce an overthrow, and
it is certain to inflict useless concussion on the hands of
bowlers and wicket-keepers. No fieldsman is so apt to dis-
regard this advice as the bowler ; at least, it is a fact that many

Overtaking and picking up.'

250

CRICKET.

bowlers are particularly fond of returning the ball hard to the
wicket after they have fielded it. It does not succeed in run-
ning a man out once in a thousand times, it often enables a
run to be got by an overthrow, and it uselessly troubles the
wicket-keeper. A batsman is next door to an idiot who is
got out by such means, and we suspect that it is often done to
secure the applause of an unthinking mob.

DEEP FIELD, OR COUNTRY CATCHING.

This is an art which the above-mentioned critics lament as
having died out. It may be suspected that they missed as

many catches as the pre-
sent generation, but still
the present generation miss
more than they ought. All
fine country fields catch
the ball close to the body —
nay, more close to the head
— and rightly so, because
the eye is more in a line
with the ball, and with the
hands in the position shown
in fig. 1, not in the way
shown in fig. 2. If a
young player begins in the
wrong way, he will miss
one or two and get ner-
vous. It is worth remem-
bering that folios of rules
will never make a nervous
field keep hold of a coun-
try catch. Cold hands are
a frequent cause of failure,
but loss of confidence and
the disorganisation of the nervous system is the commonest
reason, and a constant prayer of many a cricketer is to be
spared a high catch.

Fig. i. — The right way to catch.

FIELDING.

251

When a field begins to be uncertain, he should keep wicket
to fast bowling for a quarter of an hour a day, and field some-
where close in for a week or so. The wicket-keeping will
practise his eye, and the field-
ing close in will spare his
nerves during this educational
process. Practice is, of course,
useful for long catches, but
only up to a certain point. A
player may alter from a bad
style of catching to a good
one by practice, but a very safe
catch in practice is frequently
a bad performer in a match,
simply on account of ner-
vousness. For sharp catches,
wicket-keeping is, perhaps,
the only thing that will help.
The peculiar faculty they de-
mand is, like the spin in
bowling, something that can-
not be taught, the possession
of which is a guarantee of
genius.

And now for those who
occupy the separate places, first among whom we are surely
right in dealing with the

Fig. 2. — The wrong way to catch.

WICKET-KEEPER.

A little thought makes it clear that there are given at least
three chances of catching to one of stumping a man out. And
so the wicket-keeper must first feel the ball safe and warm in
his hands before he attempts to put the wicket down. This
advice sounds obvious, but it is so often disregarded that it
must be insisted on. The first rule accordingly is, that the
ball must not be snatched at, but received. This snapping

252

CRICKET.

used to be a very common fault with amateurs, and the great
George Pinder's remark, 'You amateurs snap 'em a bit,' hit on
a then weak spot in amateur wicket-keeping. Another reason
for not snapping is one that will certainly strike home, and
that is, that the non-snapper is not nearly so likely to hurt his
hands, as one form of snapping consists in jerking the hands
quickly forward to meet the ball, and thereby resisting a blow
instead of waiting for it. Another danger of snapping is, that

Wicket-keeper — Sherwin in position.

you run the risk of moving your hands in such a way that in-
stead of the ball striking the palms of the hands where it does
not hurt, it strikes you on the top of the thumb or fingers, caus-
ing an agony that only wicket-keepers can rightly appreciate.
Hardly any two wicket-keepers stand alike, so take any position
that is natural to you, as was recommended in the chapter on
Batting, only bearing one fact in mind, which is, to avoid
standing so far away as not to be able comfortably to put down
the wicket without moving the legs. The postures generally

FIELDING. 253

assumed are, it must be confessed, the reverse of graceful ;
they are too well known to need description, but the two most
common forms are shown in the figures given on pp. 252
and 254. In one figure we recognise the massive proportions
of the famous Sherwin. It is wise to teach the beginner to
stand still and not to move his feet till the ball is hit by the
batsman or has passed his hands or is in his hands. We say
beginners because some famous wicket-keepers do move right
in front of the ball, but if a beginner moves his feet it may be
inferred that he funks the ball, and is getting out of its way.
Again, you may not be able to take many leg-balls, but every
time you do put the wicket down, not regarding the fact that
the batsman may not be out of his ground. If you wait to
look, he certainly will not wait to get back, warned as he is by
the sound of the ball impinging on the gloves that there is no
time for loitering about. We do not say that an appeal ought
to be made to the umpire every time that the wicket is put
down ; that ought only to be done when you think that the bats-
man was out of his ground ; unless this is the case it is an unfair
and unsportsmanlike proceeding.

We have before protested against pandering to the vicious
tastes of the gallery, and we must protest against it again,
and caution wicket-keepers in the following particular. It is
supremely difficult to take leg- balls, and the populace applaud
accordingly when one is taken. Now we have no objection to a
wicket-keeper taking as many leg-balls as possible, but on one
condition, and that is, that he does not lay himself out to take
leg-balls at the expense of the off balls. It is easy to do
this by a different position and a concentration of thought
on the leg-balls. The vast majority of catches are given
on the off side, and catches, as has been before remarked,
out-number stumping chances in the proportion of 3 to 1.
We would infinitely sooner have a wicket-keeper on our side
who was safe on the off side and did not take one leg-ball in
a hundred, limiting leg-balls to those outside the legs of the
batsman. Let your first thoughts be concentrated mainly on
straight and off-side balls, and pay no regard to the applause

254

CRICKET.

of any save those whose knowledge of the game makes their
approbation valuable.

A player with no aptitude for wicket-keeping on first going
to that position will undergo moments of unspeakable agony.
Spectators do not thoroughly realise the position of the wicket-

Wicket-keeper — Another position.

keeper, indeed nobody can who has not attempted the art. In
the first place, we will suppose a very fast bowler ; in the second,
a fast and possibly a rather bumpy wicket ; in the third place,
a batsman with perhaps the bulk of W. G. Grace or K. J. Key,
wielding a bat of the orthodox proportions ; and in the
fourth place, three stumps with two bails placed on the top.
The body of the batsman in many cases completely obstructs
the view the wicket-keeper ought to have of the ball. Even if
he can get a good sight of the ball there is that abominable bat

FIELDING. 255

being fiddled about, baulking the eyesight in the most tantalising
manner, and there are some batsmen who have a provoking
habit of waving their bats directly the bowler begins his run,
and continuing their antics till the ball is right up to them ;
while others seem to be built like windmills, and have a limb
always at hand to throw out between the unhappy wicket-keeper
and the rapidly-advancing ball. There are several seconds,
therefore, when the wicket-keeper is only conjecturing what
course the ball is taking, and is certain of but two things
— one, that the ball is hard ; the other, that it is advancing in
the direction of himself with terrific rapidity. Then, even if
you see the ball plainly, it may happen to be, and frequently is,
straight, and a straight fast ball raises unutterable emotions in
the wicket-keeper's breast ; for who knows what devilish tricks
the ball, to say nothing of the bails, will play after the wicket is
struck, and the course of the missile diverted, not stopped ? One
reads how a bail has been sent a distance of thirty or forty
yards by a fast ball, and that bail may take the wicket-keeper
in the eye in transitu. The writer was once struck by the ball
on the eye and by the bail on the mouth at very nearly the
same second. The wicket-keeper is grimly told that he must
not flinch, and that he never can be really good if he does not
keep his legs still. True, most true ; but, like other great people
who do great things, he must resist every natural impulse and
all his lower nature, and not till he has succeeded will he stand
the least chance of reaching to a pinnacle of excellence. Having
briefly pointed out these difficulties and dangers, let us beg the
field to treat the wicket-keeper as tenderly as possible, to culti-
vate a straight throw, either a catch or a long-hop, and not half-
volleys or, worse still, short-hops, and never to throw hard when
there is no necessity. If the throw is crooked, the wicket-keeper
should not leave his position to stop it ; leave that to the men
who are backing up. He may be called upon afterwards to put
down the wicket, and he ought to be in a position for so doing.
Bear in mind also this cardinal rule — namely, to stand behind
the wicket to a throw and not in front.

256

CRICKET.

LONG-LEG.
It may be stated first of all in regard to this place, that its
importance is very considerably less in the cricket of the present
day than it was in former times. The improvement of bowling
in mere accuracy, owing to the fact that now compared with
twenty years ago five medium pace and slow bowlers exist to
one fast bowler, is the reason of this change ; and even when

a long-leg is used, it is very often because a sort of back-up is
required for the wicket-keeper, and the long-leg is consequently
placed very sharp, always remembering that there is no long-stop.
The man chosen for this grand post ought to know from the way
a batsman hits at a ball whether he should stand square or sharp.
The old-fashioned long-leg hitting of George Parr is almost a
thing of the past; so that long-leg should stand too square rather

FIELDING. 257

than too sharp, especially as the right hand will thus get most
to do. If the batsman is a weak hitter, alter the position, moving
not only nearer the wicket but sharper as well. For a weak
hitter's most dangerous stroke will be a snick to leg, and it
is rather galling to see a snick score many runs. But a strong
square-leg hit is far more dangerous; therefore, leave ample space
to cover the ground, and trust to your speed to save two runs.
A good runner, after he plays a ball gently to long-leg, makes
all haste over the first run, and, as he turns, assumes that there is
time for the second if he sees that the long-leg is slackening in
che least, or winding up for an ornamental throw, or in any
other way wasting time. In such case jump towards the ball the
moment you see the batsman turning round to slide it in your
direction ; run as if a mad bull were behind you, and picking
up the ball with one hand (as it is moving slowly enough) hurl
it at the wicket-keeper's head — unless he is some distance off,
in which case throw so that it goes to the wicket-keeper a long-
hop. Occasionally it is useful to throw to the bowler, assuming
that he is behind the stumps and that mid-off is backing up, be-
cause the batsmen get frightened at this manoeuvre, and feel that
their second run entails too much of a risk, and this frequently
prevents them trying it again. Bear in mind that the aim
of good fielding is, not to run men out, but to prevent their
trying to run. Remember also that a catch to long-leg has a
tendency to curl towards your right hand, so do not rush too
violently towards the left directly the ball is hit.

MID-OFF AND MID-ON

have somewhat similar duties to perform, and the latter in
one way is the easiest place in the field, for there is less twist
on the ball when hit there than is the case with any other hit.
When the ground is hard, stand deeper than when it is soft,
because on a hard ground a single is easier, a four harder, to
save. Again, stand wider when the bowler is bowling your

s

258 CRICKET.

side of the wicket, as he is then responsible for part of the
space between you. If the batsman is a timid runner, it is a
good plan to tempt him to run by pretending to be slow, and
the moment he calls ' run ' dash in with unexpected vigour.
This artifice, however, can be useful only once in an innings,
and must not be attempted by any except quick and good
fields. But if by well-ascertained and true report and your own
observation you know that either or both of the batsmen are
slow or timid runners, stand further back, unless there is any
special reason to make you stand in for a catch, for by so doing
you cover more ground and can save fourers or threes. Mid-off
must back up behind the bowler when the ball is thrown in
from long-leg, short-leg, mid -on and long- stop. Mid-on backs
up the bowler when it is thrown from mid-off, cover-point,
point, and third man. Modern tactics and modern slow bowling
have invented an extra field in the shape of an extra mid-off,
who stands between cover-point and mid-off, and his duties,
when the fashion is to bowl mainly on the off side for catches,
are most onerous. Mr. G. B. Studd's fielding here was one of
the sights of cricket. The Australians in general, and Boyle
in particular, have introduced a new position to bowlers of the
Spofforth type — you may call it either an extra short-leg or
an extra mid-on. If the wicket is soft and catchy this field
stands sometimes only five or six yards from the bat, and makes
numerous catches when batsmen are poking forward and the
ball is inclined to hang. In short, it is on the on side that which
' silly point ' — afterwards described — is on the off side. It will
only be seen when bowlers of superlative excellence are bowling,
men who can be relied upon to keep a good length, and whose
bowling is too fast to allow the batsman to run out for a drive.
If the bowler has not these qualities, but bowls a decent average
of half-volleys on the leg-stump or a little outside, there will
probably be a coroner's inquest required. But Boyle knew that
neither Spofforth nor Palmer bowled such balls, and it cramps
the batsman unpleasantly to see a field standing there on a

FIELDING. ■ 259

tricky wicket. Extreme vigilance is required for this post, and
the risk of injury is too great to permit it being made use of
when the wicket is fast. It was practically never seen in England
till the Australians introduced it in 1878.

COVER-POINT

shares with the three last-mentioned fields a great respon-
sibility connected with throwing and running fast after the ball.
A very common set of strokes are those which send the ball on
either side of cover-point, mid-off, extra mid-orT or mid-on, and
realise on a hard ground three runs. Now a really good field
very seldom allows three runs, because he makes the batsmen
suppose that the ball is somehow back at the wicket almost at the
same moment that he is seen picking it up from the ground.
Those who have tried this will testify how very often a sudden turn
and throw-in just checks the third run ; the batsmen feel that
they must watch such a field, and it is this very watching which
prevents them from ever pressing the running. This is a most
important matter and one generally neglected, but it is worth
insisting on, because anybody can act upon this piece of advice.
Anyone can run his fastest and throw his quickest, but the men
who field in these places seldom do their best, though the man
who does not is not a genuine cricketer, and is probably a selfish
animal. Such conscientious fielding as this gets very little recog-
nition, though it saves about one in every ten runs. Spectators
do not observe ; the cricket reporters notice the features of
the game that are obvious to only ignorant spectators, and
they do not waste ink upon it ; but any really judicious captain
estimates it very highly. No doubt a flashy field is very useful at
cover-point ; he cramps all the runs on the off side, and covers
the defects of a third-rate mid-orT; but very often these are
just the men who shirk the burden, heat and hard work of the
day, as we may call these repeated excursions of fifty yards or
so under a strong sun. Cover-point should learn, if possible,

26o • CRICKET.

the under-hand throw practised with such success by the late
Rev. W. Law and G. J. Mordaunt. He has to back up behind
mid-off when mid-on or the deep-on fields are throwing in, and
behind point when short-leg and long-leg throw to the wicket-
keeper.

POINT.

Success in this place depends almost entirely on natural gifts,
and there are two distinctly different methods of first-class
fielding in this place. One is the point, who seems nearly to
have solved the problem of perpetual motion, and bounds about
everywhere, rushing in at one ball and right in front of the
wicket to the next, but whose first position is closer in than
more stationary fields at the same place. The other variety of
point stands a yard or two further from the wicket and is more
stationary, and his specialty consists in being a grabber of
every ball within his reach. The right way of standing is shown
in the figure opposite. There are plenty of good fields at point
who stand differently from this, but we are trying to teach those
who are not good fields, and we think that this figure is a good
position. The important point to observe is that you can move
quicker when one foot is drawn a little behind the other, and
Carpenter and other good fields used always to stand thus.
Some critics would say that point ought to stoop more, and no
doubt some good points do. Each must choose his own eleva-
tion as far as this goes, but we feel sure that a great many balls
go over the point's head when he stoops very much, and that
on the whole the figure shows the best stoop. The stationary
and the restless both have their merits and both have their
characteristics. The tall man with a long reach nearly always
adopts the stationary position, and no hit is too hard for him to
face. Of course he ought to stand ready to start quickly, but
his business consists in covering as much ground as possible
from very nearly one position, and he must have a good aptitude
for getting his hand in the right place to stop the ball.

FIELDING.

261

The position of point ought to be in a line with the wicket,
and at a distance depending entirely on the pace of bowler,
style of batsman, and condition of ground. The faster the
bowler and the ground, the further off the wicket ought point
to stand, but in no case ought he to be more than eight yards
away. Some points make a great mistake in standing further

Point.

than this, for a very common catch at point is when a bumping
ball rises off the batsman's glove and pitches about four yards
from the wicket in the direction of point — a certain catch if
point is fielding in his right place, but impossible to get at if
he stands too far from the wicket. There is no limit on certain
grounds and to certain batsmen to the closeness to the wicket

262 CRICKET.

which an active point will stand. The ball has been taken
literally almost off the bat. We think, on the whole, that
the fieldsman who stands nearly in the same position till the
ball is hit, who is quick in starting, and very sure and ready
to face and stop a real ' hot-un,' is more valuable than
the restless point who runs here and there, and rarely adopts
the same position for two consecutive balls. There is, how-
ever, much to be said for both styles ; but we feel very sure
that the restless point must first acquire a certain faculty of
more or less correctly judging where the batsman is likely to hit
the ball, or else he will be always rushing to the wrong place.

There is a combination of circumstances which induces
modern captains to put their point right forward on the off
side about eight yards from the wicket. The circumstances
required include a batsman who has got a peculiar forward style,
a bowler whose balls are inclined to hang or get up straight
from the pitch, and lastly a catchy wicket where the balls are
apt to bump and hang. It is a very useful place sometimes,
but most dangerous to the field at other times. In the Aus-
tralian and England match at the Oval in 1880, Morley was
bowling, McDonnell was batting. The ball now and then
bumped up, and the English captain acceded to W. G. Grace's
wish and allowed him to go forward point, or, as it is familiarly
called, ' silly ' point. Now McDonnell is one of the hardest
hitters in the world, and Morley used sometimes to bowl a ball
a little over-tossed. A ball of a certain length mighthave been
bowled that McDonnell might not have smothered at the pitch,
and the requisite hang having taken place, W. G. Grace might
have triumphed. But unfortunately, before this consummation
took place, McDonnell got a ball admirably adapted to his
extremely powerful off drive. The well-known musical sound
of a bat hitting the ball plump was heard, then a second knock
higher in its musical pitch and nearly as loud, the ball was
seen about twenty yards high in the air, and McDonnell easily
scored a run. What really happened was this : McDonnell

FIELDING. 263

made a grand hit all along the ground, and long before the
burly form of W. G. Grace had unbent itself, the aforesaid
ball had struck his toe, which offered a strictly passive, be-
cause involuntary, resistance, which such violence that the ball
ascended into the air like a rocket, and a run was the result.
W. G. walked slowly, a wiser man, to his old position on
a line with the wicket, and probably in his inmost thought
silently adopted the opinion that the position of ■ silly point '
is only feasible when a batsman of a style directly opposite to
that of McDonnell is at the wicket. But this forward point
is very useful at times, and should be made use of when
circumstances are favourable. The late Mr. R. A. Fitzgerald,
in his well-known book ' Jerks in from Short-leg,' says that if
there is no good field at point in an eleven, the captain
should choose the fattest man, for nature makes it impossible
for him to get out of the way of a hard hit. In other words,
it sometimes strikes him in the most prominent part of his
person and saves four runs. Perhaps Roger Iddison, of York-
shire fame, who died in the year 1890, could have testified to
the truth of this remark, and perhaps Mr. Key will take to the
position in the maturity of his cricket life.

SHORT-SLIP

ought first of all to be as vigilant as if he were keeping wicket.
If he is so, and knows where to stand, he will find it the easiest
place in the field ; if he is not, it will be the hardest. Wicket-
keepers ought always to be able to field short-slip, for it is a
post that has all the pleasant moments of wicket-keeping with
none of the knocks and bruises and other discomforts of that
important place. Stoop as the ball is in the air, and hold the
hands ready forward, as shown in figure on p. 264. This posi-
tion is necessary because many more balls hiss low along the
grass than rise into the air from a snick, and if they do rise
short- slip can rise too and be in time for them ; but if he has to

264

CRICKET.

stoop he will be too late. So for fast bowling stand finer than
most short-slips do, and if the ground is very hard keep a long
way off— eight yards is often not too long a distance. But the
difficulty in this respect is much greater when the bowling is
slow. A late cut adds materially to the speed of a slow ball,
though it has scarcely any effect on a fast one. But if, instead

Short-slip.

of cutting, a batsman plays forward and snicks a slow ball, a
gentle catch comes at a medium height and drops short. Short-
slip must then regulate his position accordingly. When he sees
the batsman lean forward he must advance one step ; when the
batsman hangs back and the ball is on the off side he should
hang back too and hold the hands low; for assuredly if anything
comes it will be a hard low catch. He should study the slow

FIELDING. 265

bowler's action so as to know when his fast balls are coming,
and drop back. He should also ponder on the pace of the
ground, and never forget that wet on the top of a hard ground
makes the fastest surface of any : in these circumstances, there-
fore, he should stand finer and deeper. When the rain soaks
in, the balls pop, and catches come slower and higher. Short-
slip should back up when balls are thrown, not from short-
nor from long-leg, but from mid-on and mid-off and cover-
point, and should run across, when there is a run to third man,
between the wicket-keeper and short-leg. This last is a tiring
and often unremunerative process, but if done through a long
innings is in the highest degree commendable. Short-slip
must also run up to the wicket and take the place of the
wicket-keeper when the latter has usurped the functions of an
ordinary fieldsman and left his post to pick up and throw in
the ball to the wicket.

THIRD MAN.

This is another most scientific post, and one in which a bad
fieldsman is very much out of place. First, there is the twist.
It is worth knowing respecting a twist from a bat, that if the
ground is hard and the cut clean, the ball will not twist till it
has lost some of its impetus. Consequently stand straight in
the line of a hard cut on a smooth ground, as the ball, though
it is spinning all the time, will not curl till it is some way past
third man. But if the turf is soft the ball bites and curls on
the second or third bound, seldom on the first unless the stroke
is a very slow one. The same holds good with iegard to long-
leg. The batsman, if he were a genuine judge of a run, would
always ' run' to third man when the spin is likely to act at once,
since under those conditions the ball wants so much watching
that third man cannot well return it in time. But many bats-
men do not know these things.

With regard to the distance of third man from the wicket,
it is important that he should judge it according as the batsmen

266 CRICKET.

are good runners or not. He should estimate this at once
from their appearance and demeanour, standing well out if they
are men of weight and dignity, and nearer in if they are active
and inclined to steal runs. After they have run one run to him
he should come a yard nearer in, feeling like a man who has
had a personal insult offered him, and is burning to avenge it.
Lastly, he has to consider the throw-in. // is nearly always
best to throw to the bowler's wicket (assuming, of course, that he
is ready behind the stumps and mid-on is backing up), for this
plain reason: it is generally the non-striker who calls the run,
and consequently starts the quickest, runs quickest, as he sees
the danger before him, and gets home the quickest. Even
if he does not call the run, he is backing up, and starts un-
shackled by having made a stroke. So leave him alone. The
striker, on the contrary, has made a stroke (and one that throws
him back a good deal), is not backing up, and does not see the
danger. Also, if he runs by the shortest way to the other
wicket, he will very likely be cut over. Circumstances, in
short, are against him. Above all, he seldom suspects that the
ball is coming his way, for very few third men ever throw to
the right wicket, very few bowlers are behind the stumps, and
very few mid-ons back up. Third man should stand squarer
for a strong cutter than for a weak one. He should back up
behind short-slip when the ball comes from mid-on, and ar-
range with cover-point as to the throws from short-leg, himself
covering point when the throws come from in front of the
wicket, and cover-point taking that place when they come from
behind.

SHORT-LEG

is an important place for backing up and saving singles. It is
a good plan to put a left-handed man here, as he can better
command the strokes between himself and mid-on, which are
generally s© prolific of runs. Having fielded one of these, he
ought not to throw to the wicket-keeper, as he is already facing
the bowler's wicket, and the bowler's wicket is facing him, should

FIELDING. 267

he wish to throw it down. He should of course previously
make a league with mid-off as to the backing up. The late
Mr. R. A. Fitzgerald, in the book just mentioned, ' Jerks in from
Short-leg,' once urged the importance of putting the * witty man '
short-leg as a convenient spot for cracking jokes. Certainly
conversation in the field is often of great service towards keep-
ing the men brisk. Short-leg has to back up all the returns from
the off side, dropping well back if short-slip comes across for
this purpose, and in any case leaving ten or fifteen yards between
himself and the wicket. A captain of an eleven feels himself
very often bound by an unwritten tradition to put the notori-
ously worst field in his eleven short-leg. No doubt it is ex-
ceedingly difficult to judge which is the natural position for a
bad field, but we unhesitatingly say that several matches have
been lost by bad fields at short-leg. In the days of his prime
people used to watch W. G. Grace playing ball after ball in the
direction of short-leg, especially when left-handed bowlers were
on. The late famous J. C. Shaw was not a good field in any
sense of the word ; he was consequently often to be seen fielding
at short-leg, and we wonder how many times he has missed
W. G. Grace in that position ? Missing Grace was, and is still,
a most expensive mistake. There are several players who are
weak in their play off their legs, and these players are continu-
ally sending chances to short-leg, while other players are ex-
tremely fond of playing off their legs, and score very heavily by
the stroke ; and it is wonderful to see how many runs a quick
field will save when such men are batting.

LONG-STOP.

In these days of slow bowling and fine turf captains of
elevens do not bother themselves with providing long-stops at
all. Wicket-keepers are so good, the bowling is so straight, that,
in the present year (1898), it is impossible to say who is the
best long-stop in England, for the simple reason that no long-
stops are wanted. But in the days of yore, every schoolboy

268 CRICKET.

who was fond of cricket could tell you of the prowess of
Mortlock, H. M. Marshall, and A. Diver. Mr. Powys was a
splendid bowler, and so was Mr. R. Lang. But had not
Mr. H. M. Marshall been found to stop Mr. Lang's balls, and
Mr. F. Tobin those of Mr. Powys, neither one bowler nor the
other could have been put on at all. Such long-stops as these
stand rather on the leg side, and if the bowling is very fast,
just deep enough to take the ball as it rises after its second
pitch. This is not easy to do, and young hands feel tempted
to leave more room. But this, when the ball is very swift,
scarcely diminishes its speed at all, and the further off long-stop
stands, the more chance there is of the ball bounding awkwardly
by the time it reaches him. Long-stop, however, would be in
an awkward position if the batsmen ran every bye that is possible.
To prevent their doing so, he must throw over to the bowler,
for the old reason that the striker has the whole distance to run
and has his back to the danger. Again, a hard throw, straight
down the pitch, places both batsmen in jeopardy, the striker
especially, and that is why he so often runs with his hand to the
back of his head, of course retarding his speed by so doing.
It is a harassing run to steal; and that, combined with the fact
that it is not scored to either batsman, is doubtless the reason
why it is not oftener stolen. Long-stop should accordingly be
a strong thrower, and mid-off a conscientious backer-up. Long-
stop should back up (behind short-leg) the returns from cover-
point and mid-off.

Before concluding these technical remarks, let us draw atten-
tion to one or two circumstances connected with cricket affairs
now which are different from what they were formerly. We have
said that in these days long-stopping is a lost art, or rather it is
not an art that is required in modern elevens. It would ap-
pear miraculous to an old cricketer who had seen nothing of
the game for the last fifteen years could he watch Spofforth
bowling, and Blackham keeping wicket with no long-stop, when
the ground was hard. Such a thing would not have been dreamt

FIELDING. 269

of twenty years ago. Then a ball used to shoot five or six
times in an innings of 135 runs, and the occasional shooter that
occurs now always results in four byes if it escapes the bat and
the wicket. Hence one important reason why formerly a long-
stop was indispensable. Though there are or were, a very few
years since, some very fast bowlers, the average pace now-a-days
is far slower than twenty-five years ago, and that is another
reason for dispensing with long-stop. But the change of tactics
in not having a long-stop has had one effect that we regard as
pernicious, and that is, that it has spoilt one part of the skill of
wicket-keeping, and on the whole worked an enormous change
for the worse in the fielding of short-slips generally. The long-
stop is not there, both wicket-keeper and short-slip are con-
scious of this, and they are aware that his place must be
filled up by themselves. If a ball goes in the least to leg, even
if it only just misses leg-stump, short-slip is usually to be seen
backing up the wicket-keeper; for four byes make an appreciable
addition to the score. But though the ball is on the leg side,
it is quite possible for the batsman to hit it on the on side, and
send it straight to short-slip's hands, if he only could have been
in his proper place. He is abused if he does not back up the
wicket-keeper, and in any case the mere feeling that runs must
result from the wicket-keeper not handling the ball makes it
impossible for him to give his undivided attention to fielding
at short-slip proper. He is continually shifting towards his left
hand, and numerous balls that he would have fielded if only
there had been a long-stop, now result in runs. The wicket-
keeper is also in more danger of being hurt, and as his position
is necessarily one attended by extreme responsibility and con-
siderable pain, this further danger ought to be spared him if
possible. The risks he runs are from fast balls outside the bats-
man's legs. He cannot see the ball accurately so that he may
judge where to put his hands without moving his feet ; in order,
then, to prevent the ball going to the ropes, he has to rush right
in front of it, at the risk, if the ball should bump or do anything
odd, of getting hit on the face or elsewhere. If a long-stop

270 CRICKET.

were behind him, he would try and take the ball for the sake of
a possible catch or stump-out, but he would not expose himself
to danger by getting in front of it.

Two corollaries must be drawn from what has been already
said. The first is that the bowler should be just as prepared
to receive a throw-in as the wicket-keeper. When both wickets
are menaced, the danger of a short run is doubled, and an over-
throw is oftener due to the bowler and backer-up than to the
field. But it is said % This is all very fine, but the bowler cannot
get behind his wicket in time.' No assertion could be wider
of the mark. Take some genuine cricketer as an example,
and no better one could be chosen than Mr. A. W. Ridley,
some sixteen years ago. Lob -bowlers follow their own ball
further down the wicket than any other kind of bowler, and of
all lob-bowlers Mr. Ridley did this the most. But no one has
ever seen a short run got offhis bowling, without, at least, at the
same moment seeing him dart behind the wicket, and be ready
to put down the hardest throw anyone might send to him. He
is always there in time, and any bowler in the country might do
the same if he were cricketer enough to see what is wanted.
The second inference to be drawn is, that it is highly important
to pursue a medium hit with all possible speed, and to throw
it in as if it burnt the fingers to retain the ball a moment. We
do not remember an eleven who neglected this less, as a whole,
than the Players eleven of the year 1887, and the number of
runs that can be saved by observance of the rule is immense.

These are the two most important directions which can be
given to any young cricketer, and especially to any young captain
of a side, in order that he may select his men with a view to
these requirements of the game. The general fielding capacity
of a whole team depends on the attention devoted to such dull
points by the eleven minds, not less than on the suppleness oi
the eleven backbones. No directions, it has already been said,
will make a bad field into a good one. But it is equally true
that no advice should be offered which cannot be acted upon.
Consequently only some duties of a fieldsman have been

FIELDING, 271

described. But it is not too much to say that a careful atten-
tion to these points would ultimately turn eleven indifferent
cricket players into a good fielding team.

In a work necessarily somewhat didactic as this is, it may
be advisable to remind youngsters that the finger of scorn is
pointed even more to the very bad field than it is to the very
bad batsman or bowler. A very bad bowler will not be asked
to bowl unless the bowling is hit into a thoroughly entangled
knot — as was the case in an Australian v. England match in
1884, when every member of the English team, including
Shrewsbury, had to bowl — and then, if he fails, he has only done
what was expected of him. But it is difficult for anybody to
explain, except on the ground of gross carelessness, how a man
who is a good bat or bowler can be so utterly useless as a field
as some have turned out to be. The cricketer who nevei
appears to have grasped the rudiments of the laws concerning
twist, who is lazy and will not run after the ball, and who hardly
by accident holds a catch, is an eyesore in cricket. And let u?
also assure the young practitioner that an intelligent audience,
though a somewhat rough one, such as you may see at places
like Bramall Lane, Sheffield, will jeer in audible and not too
polite tones at the bad field long before it will do the like at
bad batsmen or bowlers. Every cricketer knows the different
eccentricities of indifferent fields, their wonderful varieties of
error, and the specious appearance of some that fatally delude the
most patient captain. There are some men who are fairly fast
runners, and can throw hard, and yet are fields of a character
to make angels weep. They dash in at the ball like a man
charging at football, with the result that they half stop it, or,
after they stop it, in attempting to pick it up, they kick it
eight or ten yards behind them. They never seem to be
able to judge what sort of length the ball will come intc
their hands, and never under any circumstances is the ball
cleanly handled. And yet they go at it so heartily, they
move so quickly, and, at first sight, look so alert and full
of promise, that it is difficult to condemn them until you have

272 CRICKET,

had two or three days' experience of them. This sort belongs
to the class we call the specious fieldsman. Then there, is
the man who might look at a batsman for two hours and yet
never discover where his favourite stroke is likely to go, who
obeys orders strictly, and when he has taken up the position
assigned to him, stands there like a tree, despite the fact that
every ball hit in his direction is a little too much on his right
or on his left hand. This individual may safely be assumed
to be a creature of a low order of intelligence, to whom
Providence has probably vouchsafed a natural instinct for
bowling, in the absence of which he would never be seen on
any cricket-ground again, except as a spectator. He is so
stupid that he never can excel in batting. Then there is
the man who is very slow and has not acquired the merit of
being what may be called an eminently safe field. His position
when endeavouring to stop the ball is that illustrated by the
figure on the opposite page, which shows what is essentially the
wrong position to assume. Probably he will not touch the ball
with his hands, and it certainly cannot be stopped by his legs
or feet. He can hold a catch sometimes and stop a ball occa-
sionally, but he does not succeed in these two particulars often
enough to make one forget or forgive his extraordinary slowness.
Another variety is the man who fields tolerably well sometimes,
but, when he fails to stop a ball, either runs after it very slowly,
which is the sulky form, or else dashes after it and throws it
wildly and very hard anywhere, causing overthrows by the
dozen, and maiming his comrades' fingers. This is the angry
form — an odious type ; let every youngster beware of such and
develop not into it. Every cricketer ought to try to become as
good a field as he can by assiduous practice — for this reason,
if for no other : bowlers get disorganised when the fielding is
loose.

A natural curiosity is always evinced where a critic shows
a tendency to name certain celebrities in any form of game.
This is the reason why we now proceed to praise famous men
and famous fielding elevens; but let us add that we do not pro-

FIELDING,

273

fess to name every good man who has ever fielded, and can
only beg for forgiveness if we omit to mention some who have
deserved recognition.

The various Australian elevens have earned great fame for
their fielding in England, and it was no doubt very good. At
the same time we think it was not so good as their batting, and
certainly not so good as their bowling. The elevens of 1882
and 1884, which were the best, no doubt won their matches
by all-round play ; but if we had to name a weak point we should
say that, as compared with the batting and bowling, it was
their fielding, although this was very good. The Australians

The wrong position for stopping the ball.

themselves say— at least, so we have heard — that the fielding
in Australia of the Hon. Ivo Bligh's eleven was never surpassed
in the colony; and that must be high praise. Still, judging
by what we know of that team, we think that we can point
out higher standards in England. The finest fielding we have
ever seen was that of the Players in 1887 in their annual
match at Lord's against the Gentlemen, and at the Oval
it was nearly as good. But that was only for two matches.
As is natural, University teams, from their youth and habit
of playing together, have earned great fame as fielding

274 CRICKET.

elevens, and if we had to select four elevens whose fielding
reputation ought to be inscribed on the highest pinnacles of
fame, we should name the Cambridge representatives of 1861
and 1862 and the Oxford of 1874 and 1875.

The Cambridge celebrities of 1861 and 1862 have faded
away into distance, and the present generation know not their
names. Both those elevens had several fast bowlers in them,
and one — Mr. R. Lang — was superlatively good. It was owing
to this fact that Cambridge had to provide itself with a long-
stop, and Mr. H. M. Marshall in that capacity has earned un-
dying fame; for long-stopping on Lord's Ground in 1861
and 1862 was no laughing matter. As general out-field
Mr. Marshall also stood very high, and was a perfectly safe
catch. Contemporary cricketers of that day are nearly unani-
mous in their praise of Mr. W. Bury as a fieldsman ; at long-
leg he has never been excelled. There were besides these
the Hon. C. G. Lyttelton at point, and Mr. R. Lang at short-
slip. ' Bell's Life ' of that date mentions as a fact that the
fielding of Cambridge in the University match of 1862 was
never equalled on Lord's or any other ground. Those were
the days when the bowling was mainly fast, the ground rough,
and the cautious safe field who got stolidly and fixedly in a
certain position was often defeated owing to the ball making
unspeakable bounds. It required a touch of genius to be a
grand field at Lord's in those times, and several members of
those two Cambridge elevens possessed it. The two Oxford
elevens of 1874 and 1875 had each only one fast bowler,
but they had magnificent fielding teams to support their
slow bowlers. When the bowling is generally slow, amateur
wicket-keepers can hold their own. This was the case in
1874 and 1875, and in Mr. H. G. Tylecote Oxford pos-
sessed a wicket-keeper fully up to the mark for the work he
had to do. It used to be a bone of contention between
Messrs. W. Law and A. W. Ridley, the captains respectively
of '74 and '75, as to which of the two elevens was the greater
in this particular line of fielding. Mr. Law, whose early death

FIELDING. 275

everyone who knew him deplores, contended that his eleven in
1874 made no mistake in the Inter-University match, whereas
the 1875 eleven did. But the Cambridge batting in 1874 was
fatuous to a degree, and the Oxford eleven had nothing to
stop, whereas Cambridge in 1875 batted very well and kept
their opponents hard at it. We are willing to give equal credit
to each, and to enshrine the names of Law, Game, Ridley,
T. B. Jones, and Royle in the temple of fame

It is not easy to gauge the merits of the fieldsmen of
forty years ago. Some of them have made their names live :
Mr. T. A. Anson as wicket-keeper, Mr. R. T. King at point,
and the famous W. Pickering at cover-point, for instance. But,
though they had rougher ground to field on, still the scoring
was nothing like so large, matches were not nearly so nume-
rous, and the wear and tear far from being so great. The
first thing that strikes one on reading over old scores and com-
paring them with those of the present day, is the enormous
number of extras that were then given. Bowlers were, no
doubt, faster, but they bowled many more wides. Taking
one year at random, 1880, we find that for the whole season
Yorkshire in all matches only bowled eight wides, five of which
were delivered by the famous Tom Emmett, who is, no doubt,
a slightly erratic bowler. In the days of Redgate and Mynn
the wides were numerous, so were the no-balls, and frequently
the extras contributed more to the total than any one bats-
man. If the bowling was fast and erratic, one cannot wonder
that byes became numerous, especially when the rough ground
is also considered. In the University match of 1841 Oxford
gave Cambridge 56 extras out of a combined total of 223 — a
very large average. In 1887 Cambridge only gave Oxford
14 extras in a combined total of 461, and Oxford lost but
three wickets in the second innings. In the same year
Oxford gave Cambridge only 20 extras in a grand total of
459. Though bowling is generally slower now than forty
years ago, still in former days they used to have long- stops
to bowling that even amateur wicket-keepers would now

276 CRICKET.

stop. The long-stopping wicket-keeper — that is, the wicket-
keeper that lets nothing pass him — is a marvellous testimony to
the excellence of modern grounds, the accuracy of modern
bowling, and the skill of the men themselves. The sight of
Blackham, standing close up to the wicket, stopping Spofforth
and Palmer would have made our forefathers look on aghast.
In the well-known print of the Sussex and Kent match in
1840, old Lillywhite is bowling, and he was a slow medium-
pace bowler ; yet, though Tom Box was reckoned the best
wicket-keeper of the day, he has a long-stop to Lillywhite's
bowling.

We may now try to enumerate the greater fields of cricket
history. We read of the marvellous feat of Mr. T. A. Anson
at the wicket, when he stumped a man off a leg-shooter of
Alfred Mynn, one of the fastest bowlers of the period. We
yield the place of honour to Mr. Anson for an individual
feat, but it is alleged to have taken place a long time ago, and
is it certain to be true? The greatest wicket-keepers since i860
in England have been Lockyer, Pooley, Pilling, Pinder, Storer,
Lilley, and D. Hunter; and we ask Plumb and Sherwin to
forgive us. It is not easy to discriminate between these ; we
merely remark that to genuine slows of the pace of Southerton,
Peate, and Tyler, we reckon Pooley to have been the best that
ever lived ; and to the very fast, Pinder and Storer were un-
equalled. Still Pooley was relatively not so good to fast, nor
Pinder to slow ; and, on the whole, they may be left on an
equality. The best wicket-keepers of old days were Mr.
Herbert Jenner, Mr. T. A. Anson, Mr. W. Ridding, and
Mr. W. Nicholson among amateurs, and E. G. Wenman and
Tom Box among professionals. The two best English amateur
wicket-keepers that ever lived, in our opinion, are Mr. Alfred
Lyttelton and Mr. McGregor, and besides them, since i860,
there have been Mr. Leatham, Mr. Bush, Mr. Newton, Mr.
E. F. S. Tylecote, Mr. Philipson, Mr. Kemble, and Mr. Gay.

Perhaps a word would not be out of place here respect-
ing Mr. Blackham, the celebrated Australian wicket-keeper.
When the Colonial Eleven came over in 1878, 1880, 1882, and

FIELDING. 277

1 884, practically the whole of the wicket-keeping had to be done
by Mr. Blackham. In 1880 and 1886 Mr. Jarvis assisted him.
Now wicket-keeping is essentially an amusement you can have
too much of. In old days, when there was a lot of fast bowl-
ing, the cream of the wicket-keeping used to be seen during
the first six weeks of the season, because during that time
the hands of the wicket-keeper were more or less sound. The
famous George Pinder, at the beginning of his career, had
faster bowling to keep to consistently than any other cricketer
before or since. Freeman, Emmett, and Atkinson were three
very fast bowlers, and they all three played for Yorkshire, and
after them came Hill and Ulyett. Pinder in consequence
very frequently damaged his hands, and no wonder. Black-
ham, however, during all the four years we have mentioned,
had SporTorth and either Garratt or Palmer to stop. Now
although these were not so fast as the Yorkshire lot, they
bowled a goodish pace ; the Australian season consisted of two
matches a week from the beginning to the end of the cricket
year, and Blackham did not get very many days off. When his
record is examined, therefore, we think that his performances
during these four years constitute the greatest wicket-keeping
feats on record. Not unless Spofforth bowled his fastest did
he ever have a long-stop, and he held his hands closer to the
wicket than any other wicket-keeper we ever saw. If the bats-
man was an inch out of his ground for a second or so, the ball
would be put down, and a stump-out resulted, for the hands
had no distance to travel, and no time was lost. Of course
the bowling he had to stop was very accurate, but when the
amount of wicket-keeping that he had to go through and the
number of wickets he got are considered, our opinion is that
Mr. Blackham was the finest wicket-keeper to bowling of all
paces that the world has ever seen.

There have been numerous fieldsmen at point who have
made themselves a name, and by universal testimony, in his
day, Mr. R. T. King, of Cambridge University, was not
approached in excellence in this position. The late Mr. John
Walker, who was intimately acquainted with cricket of that

278 CRICKET.

period as well as with that of a later date, once told the writer
that in his opinion none of the modern points ever came quite
up to Mr. King's level. Since i860 Carpenter, R. C. Tinley,
E. M. Grace, and F. W. Wright have earned high reputations
in this position, but a great many excel at point, and in the
University match alone there has been some admirable fielding
here ; the Hon. J. W. Mansfield for Cambridge, and Mr. Hild-
yard for Oxford, both being very good. The place where good
fielding is most conspicuous is midway between cover-point
and mid-off, and with this post the name of Mr. G. B. Studd is
for ever identified. In later days, Briggs, Moorhouse, Gregory
the Australian, Mr. Andrews of Sussex, and Wainwright excel
in this place. Mr. Royle at cover-point has never been
excelled, and the same may be said of Gunn at third man.
The celebrated fieldsmen of old were Mr. W. Pickering at
cover-point ; John Bickley and Mr. R. Lang at short-slip ;
Mr. E. S. E. Hartopp, Mr. H. M. Marshall, W. Pilch, A.
Diver, W. Mortlock, and J. Thewlis at long-stop ; while F.
Bell, W. Bury, John Smith, and A. Lubbock were excellent
at a distance from the wicket. There have been also, and
are, many fields who were and are good at any place ; for
instance, the renowned Mr. V. E. Walker, and the still more
famous Mr. W. G. Grace. We have said before, and we say
it again, that the fielding, though probably as good as ever it
was, is not so good as it ought to be. The nuisance of the
day is the long scoring ; we wonder how many innings of 100
are played where you do not read the well-known remark, ' the
batsman gave a chance at 24, another at 62, and a third just
before he was out, but none the less he played a fine innings.'
The following brief epigram is undoubtedly true — ■ Good field-
ing makes weak bowling strong and strong batsmen weak.'
An eleven that is really Ai in fielding very rarely has to field
out for 300 runs. When we say this we feel inclined to go
further and add that if no feasible catches are dropped this
total of 300 runs would not be of anything but the rarest occur-
rence. This fact ought of itself to be sufficient to make every
true cricketer try and become, if not a brilliant field, at any

FIELDING.

279

rate one who, when a catch is sent him, does not cause a thrill
of agonising anxiety to arise in the minds of the supporters of
the side to which he belongs.

An anxious moment.

2 8o CRICKET.

CHAPTER VII.

COUNTRY CRICKET.

(By F. Gale.)

I can remember the first cricket match I ever saw as well as if
it happened yesterday; and moreover I can give the names
and description of many of the players.

The locus in quo was the meadow opposite the Green Lion
at Rainham, in Kent, which is situated halfway between London
and Dover. The cricket field is now built over. It adjoined
the vicarage garden, in which a stand was erected for my brother
and myself, and from which we, as little boys, saw the first game
of cricket we ever witnessed, in the summer of 1830, as we
had come into Kent from a Wiltshire village where cricket was
not known.

Our grand stand was immediately behind the wicket.
Farmer Miles, a fine-set-up man, was the best bowler, and he
bowled under-arm, rather a quick medium pace, and pitched a
good length and bowled very straight, his balls curling in from
the leg ; for be it remembered that but two years had elapsed
since it was allowable to turn the hand, knuckles uppermost, in
delivery. I was seven years old at the time, and was perfectly
fascinated at the sight ; and as the gardener, an old cricketer,
stood by me all day and explained the game, before the sun
had set I had mastered most of the main points in it. One
thing I am certain of, which is that there was an on-break from
Farmer Miles' bowling ; for I watched the balls pitch and curl.

The dress of the cricketers was white duck trousers and
flannel jackets, and some wore tall black hats and some large

— .-- v^T

COUNTRY CRICKET. 281

straw hats. A few old fogies, veterans who played, had a silk
pocket-handkerchief tied round the left knee so that they could
drop down on it without soiling their white trousers ; for in
the rough out-fielding when the balls jumped about anyhow
old-fashioned fieldsmen would drop on one knee, so that if
the ball went through their hands by a false bound their body
was in the way. Josiah Taylor, the brazier, was long- stop, and
played in black leather slippers with one spike in the heel
which he claimed as his own invention, as cricket-shoes were
little known. The umpire was Ost, the barber, who appeared in
a long blue frock-coat like Logic's, the Oxonian, in ' Tom and
Jerry,' and who volunteered ' hout ' to a fieldsman who stopped
a bump-ball ; and when remonstrated with by men of both
sides remarked, 'Surely first "bounce" is "hout" at cricket
and trap.' This occasioned a change of umpire. There were
two very hard hitters, Charles Smart, a tall young fellow, son
of a rich farmer, and ' Billy Wakley,' a very stout tall young
farmer ; there were many hits to the long-field off and on, which
were well held ; and Charles Watson, a promising lad of about
sixteen, the butcher's son, who played for the first time in a
man's match, immortalised himself by making a long catch close
to the vicarage hedge. The batting mostly consisted of hard-
hitting, and the catching was good. The booth was made up of
rick-cloths strained over a standing skeleton woodwork frame ;
and on the right of it was a round table with six or eight arm-
chairs placed on either side ; a large brass square tobacco-box
out of which those who sat round the privileged table could
help themselves by putting a halfpenny into a slit which caused
the box to open (on the same principle as the chocolate and
sweet-stuff automatic pillars seen now at railway stations), kept
company with a stack of clay-pipes. The arm-chairs were for
the accommodation of the principal farmers and magnates of the
parish who subscribed to the matches and who sat in state and
smoked their pipes— as cigars were little known — and drank
their grog out of rummers — large glasses which stood on one
gouty leg each and held a shilling's worth of brandy and

282 CRICKET.

water ; and for the accommodation of the smokers, the ostler,
who always appeared in his Sunday best costume, which con-
sisted of a * Sam Weller ' waistcoat with black calico sleeves,
brown drab breeches, and top-boots, provided a stable horn
lanthorn, the candle in which he lit with the aid of the flint and
steel tinder box, and brimstone matches ; for lucifers were not
yet invented.

Another honour belonged to the knights of the round table :
as the cricket ground was bounded on the southern side by
the high road, and as coaches were passing all day, the drivers
never forgot the ' Coachman's Salute ' with whip and elbow and
nod of the head as they drove by, and this was always returned
by a cheery wave of the hand from the cricket ground. The
patriarchs of the village had a form to themselves on the left
hand of the booth ; and old Billy Coppin, the half-pay naval
purser, who had a snug little house on the bank of the road-
side, sat outside his door waving his pipe and crying out, ' Make
sail, my lads, make sail,' whenever a good hit was made.

When the match was over, one of the villagers, an ill-
tempered thatcher, who was always ready for a set-to, picked
a quarrel with someone from a neighbouring parish, and they
adjourned to a quiet corner close to our grand stand behind the
booth, pulled off their shirts and had a pretty stiff rough and
tumble fight, which I described, in my innocence, at supper
when I went in, and thereby got the gardener into a scrape for
allowing me to see it. A very serious relative told me that she
was * cock sure ' of the future fate of the two men who fought,
quoting cases out of Dr. Watts's hymns.' Let us hope that
some of the Doctor's tips have proved wrong.

* Would you be surprised to hear,' as Lord Coleridge was
always saying, that, with the exception that cricket has much
improved as regards grounds and some of the implements in
general use, old-fashioned village cricket in its true and pure
spirit still flourishes in many rural districts, and not very far from
London even, now ? You will find this happy state of things
mostly where village greens exist in a real cricketing county ;

COUNTRY CRICKET. 283

and having formerly devoted much of my leisure, during very
many years, to country cricket, I can speak from actual ex-
perience, down to present date.

In the first place, every village green has a history of its
own, and the people are proud of their old traditions. On
many of these greens some of the best-known cricketers in
England have from time to time appeared during a century past,
and some come there occasionally now during every summer ; so
the cricketers of all classes have always had good models to
work from. The green is common to all, and all have a common
interest in the honour of the parish. This charming home
feeling is admirably described by Miss Mitford in the ' Tales of
our Village ; ' and she has not exaggerated it. The consequence
is that by one consent the centre of the green is always left for
good matches, and as every village boy learns the management
of turf, you would be surprised to see what an admirable pitch
youngsters of fourteen or fifteen years of age will make for
themselves on somewhat rough ground with the aid of a five-
pronged fork, a watering-pot and a hand-roller ; and you would
be surprised to see what real good cricket many of them play.
Of course there is always a sprinkling of sons of good cricketers
who have been well taught, and they have the opportunity of
instruction from old players.

The training of village boys is very analogous to cricket
fagging at school, and anyone who takes an interest in village
cricket will do well, when he and a few friends practise, to have
any little boys of twelve or thirteen who show any proficiency
to field out for them, and to encourage them with a few coppers,
making them understand that the honorarium is dependent on
their trying to do their best. The next step is to take a lively
interest in the boys' eleven, which consists of boys under four-
teen or fifteen, to promote their matches in every way, and to
inculcate the value of fair play. It does them a great deal of
good if an old cricketer will spare half an hour, when the boys are
practising, to criticise their play, pointing out any faults, such
as running over the crease, bowling no balls, not backing up for

284 CRICKET.

a run, explaining to them the principles of running, and calling
their partner (secrets which some really good batsmen never
have learned and never will learn), and so on. The grand thing
is to try and make cricket real, and to make youngsters under-
stand that playing the strict game is the secret of true enjoy-
ment. We all know how all pleasure depends on observance
of simple rules, and on doing in practice all things as carefully
as if we are engaged in a match, or any other friendly strife.
Even if I play at ' beggar your neighbour ' with a child I insist
on the rigour of the game. Many of us must know as cricketers,
too, that long after we had given up playing in matches, there
was immense pleasure in having a first-rate professional, on a
real good wicket, to bowl, with sixpence on the wicket.

The very mention of single wicket now is like the mention
of jalap and rhubarb and calomel and bleeding, those terrible
remedies of the past, to a modern doctor ; but single wicket
with seven or eight in the field is the finest practice for training,
and we found it so on our village green, a very few years ago,
played thus. Every man's hand was against his neighbours in
turn, and there were no sides. Of course, with six or seven in
the field, byes and hits behind wicket counted, and this fact
made the youngsters try to cover as much ground as possible.
The batsman went out if he got ten runs j and as in these games
there was, at least, one good professional bowler, it took a good
man to score ten runs. The professional and any amateur who
had any pretence of being a bowler changed about. These
games were very good for putting a youngster into ; and I have
seen three or four hundred people on the green watching one
of these trials. It was also a good thing, in the event of a sub-
stitute being wanted in a good match, to try one of them, as it
accustomed an aspirant to accept responsibility and to play
before a crowd. It is a wholesome state of things when young
cricketers are at hand anxious to fill a vacancy ; it shows zeal.

Anyone who has charge of village cricket falls very short
of his duty if he does not arrange at least one real practice
afternoon a day or two before a match. He must have a

COUNTRY CRICKET. 285

good wicket made, and all who are going to play in the match
must come for some part of the play. And this is a good
opportunity for letting young bowlers come and try their hand,
with sixpence on the wicket. I have much faith in that six-
pence on the wicket. It is useless to waste any trouble on a
boy who has not got cricket at heart, but it is a great deal of
use training one who has. The difficult stage is when a boy's
strength is growing and he is old enough to be taught strict
cricket as regards defence, and in trying to steady him down
you must be sure to steer clear of the evil of cramping his hit*
ting power. We know from experience that sometimes matches
are lost or draws made owing to the want of a man who will go
in and hit. In my boyhood days there used generally to be
one, or perhaps two, in every eleven who could field splen-
didly, and who made no pretence to scientific batting, but who,
aided by a strong nerve and quick eye and a heavy driving bat,
could sometimes make a terrible example of the bowling and
help the score. Mr. Absolom, of Cambridge, and afterwards
of the Kent eleven, was one of this class. He was worth play-
ing in any eleven in England for his bowling, fielding and hard
work, and if he never made his runs, hfe share towards
success was as great as those who made a score. The thing to
■ burn ' into a young player's mind is, that unless he can con-
centrate all his thoughts on the match in which he is playing
he will never be an English cricketer. He may, perhaps, by
long practice acquire the knack of getting a lot of runs, and
building up an average, but if that is all that he is worth, he
had much better never have been in the eleven at all. Amongst
eleven men, some are sure to get a lot of runs generally, but
the men who win matches are those who prevent the other side
getting them. Take one of the best samples of cricket in the
season of 1887, as a proof of what saving runs means. I think
that anyone who knows the game can hardly help coming to
the conclusion that Gunn, in the long field, saved more runs in
1887 than the best man made, and saved a good many more
too. The Australians put their main trust in their field, and

286 CRICKET.

they taught us a good lesson when they came first, and it has
done us good. Gunn's batting is often equal to his fielding, to
say nothing of his bowling.

Now we come to a more serious matter — management and
finance ; and, unless the world has very much changed in the
last few years, anyone who takes a new lead in country cricket
will find himself surrounded by hosts of friends (?) who are
worth nothing. They will all want to come on the committee,
and make all kind of wild suggestions about a stock of club
fcats, pads and gloves, &c. There is only one antidote to this,
which is to stand firm on one point — that no public subscrip-
tions shall be asked for for any purpose other than keeping
the green in order, paying for balls for matches, match-stumps,
hire of tents, umpires, scorers, and other inevitable expenses j
the simple inducement for subscriptions being the having a
few good matches during the season, and keeping up a ground
for the use of those who cannot pay for themselves. Unless
you keep up a good parish eleven, everyone will do as he
thinks best, and the whole green will be cut to pieces and
will never be repaired.

In these days you cannot get an eleven who will make a
good stand in a match without some professional training.
Many places are fortunate enough to have an old professional
or two amongst its inmates, men who have given up grand public
matches, but who are worth their weight in gold as practice
bowlers, trainers, and members of the village eleven. Men of
this class, who will play in a match for ten shillings or will come
in the evening after work for a crown or so, and who are always
on the spot, are the best aids towards keeping together a good
set of young players and forming an eleven. They know the
young players and take a pride in them, and will find out their
failings and good points ; and nothing cheers a captain more
than an invitation from a local professional to come and see
Bill Smith or Tom Brown bat. When such an invitation is
given, you may be sure that the professional has found a recruit
who can play a length ball with a straight bat and confidence,

COUNTRY CRICKET. 287

and who can punish a loose ball. You will find numberless
cricketers who can get runs — if they once get set ; but, like
precious stones, many get spoilt in the setting. What you want
is batsmen who, in wet or fine weather, on rough or smooth
ground, will go in with nerve to have a good try. If you want
a few runs to-day from A, and he breaks down through that
cricket malady called ' funk,' it is no consolation to hear from
his claqueur B that ' A got seventy, not out, last week.'

You must try and raise the standard of a village eleven by
letting them play when you have the chance against teams who
are stronger than themselves. A licking is good medicine
for them sometimes ; and if, on the other hand, they win by
the chances of the game, a victory of this kind 'sets their tails
up.' The worst thing for them is playing against weak teams,
making a tremendous score, and knocking their opponents'
wickets over for a few runs. It is astonishing how a captain, by
working steadily on, can ■ educate his party,' as the late Lord
Beaconsfield said ; and if by quiet persuasion he can influence
some of the rougher element to abandon their horse-play and
1 flowery ' language, and to assist in keeping good order — at the
same time warning them that ladies and gentlemen are kept
away from the green for fear of their ears being contaminated
by rough language — he will find that visitors who come prepared
for a noisy rude crowd will be surprised to find perfect order ;
and if some one trangresses the bounds of good manners, he will
hear a cry of ' Better language there ! ' This kind of thing can
be and has been done ; and the result was that, in a place where
the possibility of such a thing as a ladies' tent on the green was
laughed at, not only was the ladies' tent a great success, but
subscriptions flowed in in a wonderful manner. One dear old
lady — an Exeter Hall-er who took omnibuses full of people to
hear Sankey and Moody — sent ' two guineas for the green, which
is now, I believe, a place of innocent amusement and happi-
ness,' as she stated in her letter. She was a good Christian, as
her house stood deep long-leg, and many a time has a ■ four '
been scored for a hit through her window — and this is fact

288 CRICKET.

With the enormous number of large schools in England where
cricket is played, it will seldom happen that any cricket neigh-
bourhood has not some young fellows from school, or possibly
a few from either University, close by ; and if they happen to
be of the right sort they are a great boon. At the same
time it should be a golden rule never to put out of the eleven
a good one, who has wprked for and earned his place, for a
' swell.' The rule must be kept hard and fast, that the eleven
is open only to those who have proved themselves good enough,
and if that rule is observed, in the event of a real first-rate
amateur turning up, you will generally find that more than one
volunteer will offer to stand out for him.

Captaining a village team is not all a bed of roses ; but
if you are really a cricketer at heart, you will soon acquire
the absolute confidence of people of all classes, especially
of the humbler order. It is not an unpleasant thing, as
you walk across the green on your way to the train, to hear a
pack of little boys on their way to school, who look on you
as a kind of big dog that won't bite, all chattering about the
match the day before. ' Ah ! Sir, I heerd my father say that
he won a pot over the match,' says one. * That boy, Sir,
got the stick for playing truant yesterday morning,' says
another. ' Well ! if I did,' replies the culprit, ' I see the begin-
ning of the match, and you did not — there ! ' That boy may be
another Fuller Pilch some day.

And if you are sitting in the tent when your side is in,
revolving many things in your mind, and you feel that the
whites of the eyes of Mr. Chummy the sweep, a good cricketer
formerly, who sits on a form just outside the tent, behind a
very short pipe, are glancing round on you, what a comfort it
is, if you turn round, to see an almost imperceptible nod of
Mr. Chummy's head — for he never speaks during a match —
which says, ' Going on all right — we shall win ! ' That nod of the
head is only intelligible to a cricketer, just as a very 'shy' rise
of a trout is only perceptible to a genuine fisherman. Those, too
only who have known some celebrated cricketer from child-

COUNTRY CRICKET. 289

hood, and have watched his career and promotion from the
little boys' to the big boys' eleven, and eventually to the parish
eleven, and have seen his cricket talent developed from year
to year until he appears in his county team, can imagine
how painful is the excitement to those who are interested in his
success. It has been my fate to go through — I had almost said
the agony of — that state of suspense many times, and I must
relate one instance. A young player, twenty years old, after
my earnest entreaty, was allotted a place in the county eleven. He
broke ground in London against Notts, and at his de&uthad to
stand the fire of Alfred Shaw and J. C. Shaw. Directly I saw
him play the first ball my mind was quite at rest, as he showed
that he had not the stage sickness. He got twelve runs in an hour
and a quarter. His next public appearance in London was a
* caution,' as he scored 20 not out, in his first innings against
Cambridge University; and, going in first, scored 82 in his
second innings. This occurred nearly twenty years ago, when
cricketers played with their bats and not with their pads, and
boundary hits, except against the pavilion, were unknown ; so
fifty runs was a grand score. I never shall forget my feelings
when the colt had made 47, within 3 of his 50 ; I could look
no more ; when, all of a sudden, I heard a roar from the crowd
which told me that our village boy had done it. The secretary
of the club said, ' He must have his sovereign for fifty runs,'
and he promised me that if he made thirty more, which would
make a total of 100, including his 20 not out, he would give
him two sovereigns, if I would give him one for his first fifty.
I undertook to raise that capital ; whereupon, a stranger, a very
tall, handsome, gentlemanly man, said, ' And I will give him a
sovereign too ; for • (turning to myself) ' your excitement, which
I found was only occasioned by interest in a village boy, and not
heavy betting as I imagined, has done me real good. I have
been for thirty years in India and am going back again in a
month, and nothing pleased me more than to find this keen
love of sport still existing.' He would not give his name, and
I could never find out who he was ; possibly he is alive and

u

29 o CRICKET,

may read this, and may let us know who he was, for I am sure
he has not forgotten it. Richard Humphrey was the colt, and
I sent for him into the Pavilion, and the ■ illustrious stranger '
shook hands with him and gave him the sovereign.

The foregoing remarks about clubs apply to a country place
with some pretensions to first-rate cricket and a village green.
In a rural out-of-the-way place where the population consists
of a class which cockney writers call ' Hodge,' and which we call
' chaw-bacons,' bats and balls and stumps and all implements
must be provided by subscription. In all other cases those
who want to play cricket must pay for their own cricket things.
If a good ground is provided the cricket ought to grow of itself.
1 And this country cricket must cost a good deal of money,'
perhaps you will remark. Of course it does ; so does fishing, or
shooting, or hunting, or any other sport. There are many men
who want to skim the cream of the cricket and to play in a good
home match who will not play in an out match because 'they
have not time,' really because they are too stingy. If you mean
cricket you must back it everywhere with all your heart and
all your strength. Whatever you do, never forget the wind-up
match and supper at the end of the season, and get some
good cricketers from amongst your foes to join, and above all
a parson or two if possible. In these days, I need not say
1 abolish all ribald songs and drunkenness,' as cricketers have
good manners now.

As a last word, I must say something for country umpires.
When changes in the game are proposed, a lot of outsiders
who try their hardest to prevent penal laws being made intelli-
gible, on the ground that ' the change will put too much on
the umpires' shoulders — especially country umpires/ are talk-
ing nonsense. In the days of Caldecourt, John Bayley, Tom
Barker, and Good at Lord's, umpires did their duty without
fear or favour, and did not let men ' cheat, and the same stamp
of umpires still exists in counties and on many a village green ;
and if there are any umpires on public grounds who cannot
administer the law fearlessly, they had better be supplanted by

COUNTRY CRICKET. 291

those who can. If batsmen in the past had shamelessly
stopped the ball with their pads without ' offering ' at the ball
with their bat, country umpires would have given them out
for unfair play, on the same principle as wilfully obstructing the
field. I suppose they would call it l.b.w ; and the crowd would
have given the retiring batsman (?) a very cold reception ; or
perhaps a very hot one : neither extreme of heat or cold is
pleasant. The late Chief Justice Cockburn said of county
magistrates: 'They may sometimes administer bad law, but
generally good justice ; ' and the remark applies to village-green
umpires.

292 CRICKET.

CHAPTER VIII.

BORDER CRICKET.
(By Andrew Lang.)

Mr. Gale has been saying his very pleasant say on country
cricket in England. A Border player, in his declining age, may
be allowed to make a few remarks on the game as it used to be
played in ' pleasant Teviotdale,' and generally from Berwick all
along the Tweed. The first time I ever saw ball and bat must
have been about 1850. The gardener's boy and his friends
were playing with home-made bats, made out of firwood with
the bark on, and with a gutta-percha ball. The game instantly
fascinated me, and when I once understood why the players
ran after making a hit, the essential difficulties of comprehen-
sion were overcome. Already the border towns, Hawick, Kelso,
Selkirk, Galashiels, had their elevens. To a small boy the
spectacle of the various red and blue caps and shirts was very
delightful. The grounds were, as a rule, very rough and bad.
Generally the play was on haughs^ level pieces of town-land
beside the rivers. Then the manufacturers would encroach
on the cricket-field, and build a mill on it, and cricket would
have to seek new settlements. This was not the case at Hawick,
where the Duke of Buccleuch gave the town a capital ground,
which is kept in very good order.

In these early days, when one was only a small spectator,
ay, and in later days too, the great difficulty of cricket was
that excellent thing in itself, too much patriotism. Almost the
whole population of a town would come to the ground and

BORDER CRICKET. 293

take such a keen interest in the fortunes of their side, that the
other side, if it won, was in some danger of rough handling.
Probably no one was ever much hurt ; indeed, the squabbles
were rather a sham fight than otherwise ; but still, bad feeling
was caused by umpires' decisions. Then relations would be
broken off between the clubs of different towns, and sometimes
this tedious hostility endured for years. The causes were the
excess of local feeling, and perhaps the too great patriotism of
umpires. ' Not out,' one of them said, when a member of the
Oxford eleven, playing for his town-club, was most emphatically
infringing some rule. ' I can not give Maister Tom out first
ball,' the umpire added, and his case was common enough.
Professional umpires, if they could be got, might be expected
to prove more satisfactory than excited amateurs who forgot
to look after no balls, or to count the number of balls in an
over. But even professionals, if they were attached to the club
or school, were not always the embodiment of justice.

The most exciting match, I think, in which I ever took part
was for Loretto against another school. In those days we were
very weak indeed. When our last man went in, second innings,
we were still four runs behind our opponent's first score. This
last man was extremely short-sighted, and the game seemed
over. But his partner, a very steady player, kept the bowling,
and put on some thirty-eight more. We put our adversaries
in to get this, and had lowered eight wickets for twenty-eight.
I was bowling, and appealed to the umpire of our opponents
for a palpable catch at wicket. ' Not out ! ' Next ball the
batsman was caught at long-stop, and a fielder triumphantly
shouted, 'Well, how's thatV

* Not out,' replied the professional again, and we lost the
match by two wickets.

If this had happened on the Border there would have
been trouble, and perhaps the two clubs would not have met
again for years. I have no doubt that a more equable feeling
has come in among those clubs which retained a good deal
of the sentiments of rival clans. The Borderers played too

294 CRICKET.

much as if we were still in the days of Scotts and Carrs, and
as if it were still our purpose

To tame the Unicorn's pride,
Exalt the Crescent and the Star.

Sir Walter Scott encouraged this ardour at football when he
caused to be unfurled 3 for the first time since 1633, the ancient
banner of Buccleuch, with its broidered motto ' Bellendaine.'
The dalesmen, the people from the waters of Yarrow, Ettrick,
and Teviot, played against the souters of Selkirk, all across
country, the goals being Ettrick and Yarrow. The townsmen
scored the first goal, when the Galashiels folk came in as allies
of the shepherds, and helped them to win a goal. ' Then began
a murder grim and great,' and Scott himself was mobbed in
the evening. But he knew how to turn wrath into laughter.

1 'Tis sixty years since,' and more, but this perfervid ardour,
while it makes Border cricket very exciting, is perhaps even
now a trifle too warm. The great idea, perhaps, in all country
cricket is not so much to have a pleasant day's sport, win or
lose, but to win merely. Men play for victory, as Dr. Johnson
talked, rather than for cricket. This has its advantages ; it con-
duces to earnestness. But it does not invariably promote the
friendliness of a friendly game.

Border cricket is very pleasant, because it is played in such
a pleasant country. You see the angler going to Tweedside, 01
Teviot, and pausing to watch the game as he strolls by the
cricket-ground. The hills lie all around, these old, unmoved
unchangeable spectators of man's tragedy and sport, The
'broken towers of Melrose or Jedburgh or Kelso look down on
you. They used to ' look down,' as well they might, on very
bad wickets. Thanks to this circumstance, the present writer,
for the first and only time in his existence, once did the ' hat
trick' at Jedburgh, and took three wickets with three con-
secutive balls. Now the grounds are better, and the scores
longer, but not too long. You seldom hear of 300 in one
innings on the Border.

BORDER CRICKET.

295

In my time the bowling was roundhand, and pfretty straight
and to a length, as a general rule. Perhaps, or rather certainly,
the proudest day of my existence was when I was at home foi
the holidays, and was chosen to play, and bowl, for the town
eleven against Hawick. I have the score still, and it appears
that I made havoc among Elliots, Leydens, and Drydens. But
they were too strong for our Scotts, Johnstons, and Douglasses :
it is a pleasure to write the old names of the Border clans in
connection with cricket. The batting was not nearly so good
then as it is now; professional instruction was almost unknown.
Men blocked timidly, and we had only one great hitter, Mr.
John Douglas; but how gallantly he lifted the soaring ball by the
banks of Ettrick ! At that time we had a kind of family team,
composed of brothers and other boys, so small that we called
ourselves Les Enfants Perdus. The name was appropriate
enough. I think we only once won a match, and that victory
was achieved over Melrose. But we kept the game going on
and played in all weathers, and on any kind of wickets. Very
small children would occasionally toddle up and bowl when
the elder members of the family were knocked off. Finally,
as they grew in stature, the team developed into 'The Eccentric
Flamingoes,' then the only wandering Border club. We wore
black and red curiously disposed, and had a good many Oxford
members. The Flamingoes, coming down from Oxford, full of
pride, had once a dreadful day on the Edinburgh Academy
Ground. We were playing the School, which made a por-
tentous score, and I particularly remember that Mr. T. R.
Marshall, probably the best Scotch bat who ever played, and
then a boy, hit two sixes and a five off three consecutive balls.
It is a very great pity that this Border bat is so seldom seen at
Lords'; his average for M.C.C. in 1886 was 85. The Fla-
mingoes lasted for some years, and played all Teviotdale and
Tweedside.

In those days we heard little of Dumfries and Galloway
cricket, into which Steels, Tylecotes, and Studds have lately
infused much life. In recent years, Lord Dalkeith, Lord

296 CRICKET,

George Scott, and Mr. Maxwell Scott, of Abbotsford, have
contributed very much to the growth of Border cricket. Money
has never been very plentiful north of Tweed, and when
scarcely any but artisans played, the clubs could not afford good
grounds, or much professional instruction. In these xespects
there has been improvement. Perhaps the boys' cricket was
not sufficiently watched and encouraged. Veterans used to
linger on the stage with a mythical halo round them of their
great deeds in the Sixties. Perhaps the rising generation is
now more quickly promoted, and better coached than of old.
I feel a hesitation in offering any criticism because I had only
one quality of a cricketer, enthusiasm, combined for a year or
two with some twist from leg. But, if I never was anything of
an expert, my heart hath always been with those old happy
scenes and happy days of struggling cricket. What jolly jour-
neys we had, driving under the triple crest of Eildon to Kelso,
or down Tweed to Galashiels, or over the windy moor to
Hawick 1 How keen we were, and how carried beyond our-
selves with joy in the success of a sturdy slogger, or a brilliant
field ! There were sudden and astonishing developments of
genius. Does J. J. A., among his savages on the other side of
the globe, remember how he once took to witching the world
by making incredible and almost impossible catches ? Audisne,
Amphiarae ? Michael Russell Wyer, I am sure, among Parsee
cricketers, has not forgotten his swashing blow. But one of
whom the poet declared that he would

Push into Indus, into Ganges' flood,

While all Calcutta sings the praise of Budd, 1

will no more ' push leg balls among the slips/

No longer make a wild and wondrous score,
And poke where never mortal poked before.

This is the melancholy of mortal things.

1 The maker of a formidable bat

BORDER CRICKET. 297

As Mr. Prowse sang

The game we have not strength to play
Seems somehow better than before.

Our wickets keep falling in this life. One after the other
goes down. They are becoming few who joined in those Border
matches where there was but one lady spectator, when we made
such infrequent runs, and often dropped a catch, but never lost
heart, never lost pleasure in the game. Some of them may
read this, and remember old friends gone, old games played,
old pewters drained, old pipes smoked, old stories told, re-
member the leg-hitting of Jack Grey, the bowling of Bill Dry-
den and of Clement Glassford, the sturdy defence of William
Forman. And he who writes, recalling that simple delight and
good fellowship, recalling those kind faces and merry days in
the old land of Walter Scott, may make his confession, and
may say that such years were worth living for, and that neither
study, nor praise, nor any other pleasure has equalled, or can
equal, the joy of having been young and a cricketer, where

The oak, and the ash, and the bonny ivy tree,
They flourish best at home in the North Countrie

It is long since the writer has played in Border cricket, or
even seen the game in those quarters. A more modern sports-
man, and an infinitely better player, has kindly drawn up a few
observations made in recent years. On the whole, nothing, it
seems, is altered. The game is played mainly, as of old, by
the stalwart artisans. There is little patronage from the
counties, and the middle classes are sunk in golf. Money,
therefore, is scarce, and, while very fair wickets are provided,
the out-fielder is harassed by difficulties of ground in many
cases. Time also is scarce, and thus lack of wealth prevents
the Borderers from doing themselves justice. At Langholm
the family of the Duke of Buccleuch, 'the Langholm Lordies,'
set an example, and, at Dalbeattie in Galloway, Steels, as of

298 CRICKET.

old, Studds, and Tylecotes play in autumn. Mr. Maxwell of
Glenlee, now dead, and Mr. Maxwell Scott of Abbotsford were
recently patrons of the game. On the whole, however, money
and encouragement are sadly lacking.

The play, I gather, has improved, and the employment
of professionals has doubtless contributed to this result.
There is a danger, however, of depending too much on the
professionals, who take part in the matches between the
clubs. The difficulties of umpiring are overcome in matches
for the Border Cup by the assistance of strangers, who truly
and indifferently minister justice. In other matches', I am told,
the umpires, being members of the rival clubs, are apt to
suffer from 'the personal bias,' and from accesses of local
patriotism. This defect is not absolutely confined to the Border.
Football, a game entailing less expenditure of money and
time, is naturally better rooted and more flourishing than
cricket. It is also less dependent on weather. On the whole,
improvement both in skill and in the wickets is to be noted, and
I conceive that a match is much less likely than of old to de-
generate into a Border brawl. But cricket is not the national
game of the country which gave birth to golf and can hold her
own at football.

299

CHAPTER IX.

HOW TO SCORE.
(By W. G. Grace.)

Ask any player who has scored over a hundred in an innings
if he felt any particular influence at work on the morning of the
match, and he will probably answer in the negative ; but press
him, and he will admit that he felt fit and well, and that the
feeling was owing to a good night's rest, together with the
careful training of days and weeks, I am aware that there are
exceptions to this rule, and that players have been known to
score largely after a night of high feasting and dancing j but
in my own experience, whilst admitting that occasional freaks
of this kind have been followed by moderately large scores, 1
cannot recollect many of my big innings that were not the
results of strict obedience to the rules which govern the train-
ing for all important athletic contests. Temperance in food
and drink, regular sleep and exercise, I have laid down as the
golden rule from my earliest cricketing days. I have carefully
adhered to this rule, and to it in a great degree I attribute the
scores that stand to my name in cricket history, and the mea-
sure of health and strength I still enjoy.

Early in the season every cricketer knows the difficulty of
getting his eye in, but though he may be disappointed at the
small score attached to his name match after match, he plays
steadily on, trusting that by constant practice the coveted
hundred will come. If he hopes to score largely he must be
careful in his manner of living and moderate in all things, even

300 CRICKET.

though nature may have blessed him with exceptional wrist
power and sight.

The capacity for making long scores is not a thing of a
day's growth, and it may be years before strength and skill
come and enable the young cricketer to bear the fatigue of
a long innings. He cannot begin too early to play carefully
and earnestly, and in all club and school practice the lad
should play as if he were engaged in an important match, and
the result depended upon his individual efforts. In my own
case, thanks to careful guidance, I was early taught to keep my
wicket. up, never to hit recklessly, always to play straight or
good-length balls with force, and if possible away from the
fielders. Habits of that kind thoughtfully cultivated will not
desert you in first-class cricket. Great scores at cricket, like
great work of any kind, are, as a rule, the results of years of
careful and judicious training and not accidental occurrences.

If you have occasion to travel a considerable distance to
play, make an effort to get to your destination the night before,
or at least some time before, the match begins. There is
nothing so fatiguing to the eyesight as a long railway journey,
and going straight from the railway station to the wicket is
often fatal to long scoring.

I have tried hard, especially of late years, to arrange so
that I could reach the ground in good time and save every-
thing in the shape of hurry or bustle. There are but few
cricket grounds within a hundred miles of each other where the
light and conditions are alike, and it takes some time for eye
and mind to accommodate themselves to new surroundings.
You will find it just as trying to play in a blaze of sunshine,
after three days of smoke and leaden skies, as you will in a
change from the sunny south to the bleak, sunless north.

You must also not only bear in mind the vast importance
of reaching the ground in good time, but the greater impor-
tance of getting five or ten minutes' batting practice before
the innings begins. Very few grounds are the same as regards
the way in which the ball rises off the pitch, even if the light

HOW TO SCORE. 301

be similar to that you have been playing in for days, and it
requires nothing short of a genius for the game to change
from a fast to a slow wicket, and play with the same ease and
confidence.

I shall not readily forget an experience that came to me in
1 87 1, when I travelled from London to Brighton to play for
the Gentlemen against the Players for the benefit of John
Lillywhite. Being very much younger than I am now, I was
blessed with clearness of vision and quickness of action that
suited themselves very readily to most conditions of light and
ground. Perhaps it was the inexperience of youth that led me
to put off reaching the old Brunswick ground at Hove until
the moment of beginning my innings. This I know, I felt
as fit as ever I did in my life, walked to the wicket with con-
fidence, and took my guard carefully to the bowling of J. C.
Shaw. He was on at the sea-shore end, and there was a glare
on the water, delighting the artistic eye I have no doubt, but
to me shifting and dancing like a will o' the wisp. There is
no need to deny the fact, I was all abroad to his first ball, and
knew it had beaten me before it came within two yards of
me. I tried hard to play it, but the ominous rattle told me
I had failed, and I returned to the pavilion and made .the
mental note. The dazzling light, the railway journey, and
want of five minutes' practice did it. I had no desire to re-
peat the performance in the second innings, and had little
fear of doing so. I took care to have some practice, and
scored 217, my brother G. F. made 98, and we increased the
total by 240 runs in two and a half hours.

There is this also to be said in favour of five or ten minutes'
batting practice before a match, that it enables you to test pads,
gloves, and shoes. To have the fastening of a glove or pad
break off when you are well set is a disagreeable and annoying
interruption. It takes some time to put things right, and when
you return to the wicket, the confidence you felt has very
likely to a great extent deserted you. And how often have
you placed your boots in your bag, all the spikes seemingly

302 CRICKET.

firm, to find one or two missing after you have been batting for
a few minutes ! One has gone out of the toe of your boot, and
you play forward to a ball, miss your footing and get stumped ;
or one has vanished from the heel, and you are called by your
partner for a short run, sent back again, slip, and get run out.
Inattention to these apparently small points causes annoyance,
and may prevent you from getting a long score.

You are now ready to go in, and if you are first on the list
you may do it leisurely ; but if you follow first wicket down, or
later, impress strongly upon your mind that it is your duty to
get to the w icket within the limit of time the law allows, and as
quickly as possible, particularly if your partner has got his eye
in and looks like making a large score. You will expect a like
consideration when your turn comes to wait, and nothing up-
sets a player so much as having to loiter three or four minutes
when he is warm and at home with the bowling, especially
when he knows there is no need for delay. There will be a
lack of confidence between you for some time at least, and
indifferent judging of runs.

You will doubtless please yourself as to the guard to be
taken ; but whether you take it to cover the middle and leg
stumps, or middle or leg only, be sure to keep your legs clear
of the wicket. A good umpire notes at the first glance if your
leg is covering any part of it, registers it against you, and
remembers it when called upon for a decision. If you stand
clear of the wicket, he realises that you are taking every pre-
caution, will not decide without thinking, and will give you
the benefit of every doubt.

Be sure you have vour right foot firmly planted behind the
popping crease, or you may play a little too far forward and be
stumped. You may as well remove any small piece of grass
or loose bit of turf that catches your eye as you look along the
wicket. After you have taken guard, and marked it clearly,
look all around and note the position of the fieldsmen.
It is something to know you may hit out to certain parts of
the ground without the risk of being caught.

HO IV TO SCORE. 303

It is not very many years since, if you had asked the ques-
tion how you were to begin an innings, you would have been
told to play quietly for an over or two, and hit at nothing
straight until you got your eye in. With all my heart I say, do
not be in a hurry to hit ; keep up your wicket and runs will
come ; but do not think that this means that you are not to
punish a loose ball if you get one, whether it be your first or
your twentieth. I understand it to mean that you are not to
hit at a good or doubtful ball for the sake of a start, or to
shake off the nervousness that affects a great number of players
until they have scored the first run. No ; begin as you mean
to go on, playing good balls carefully, hitting loose ones, and
bearing in mind that a large score is not made in half-a-dozen
hits or overs. Do not be surprised and disappointed if the
first few overs are maidens, or ruffled that the score-sheet is
still clean so far as you are concerned. Possibly your partner
has been placing balls that you could not get away, and you
grow impatient. That is foolishness, and fatal to your chance
of scoring. Remember he had been batting before you came
in, and had obtained the confidence and mastery over the
bowling that is now coming slowly but surely to you. Runs
will come if you stay in, and few bowlers can go on bowling
over after over for half an hour or more without giving you a
loose ball or two.

It is bad judgment to attempt sharp runs early in your
innings. Inclination that way is sure to be encouraged by the
bowler, and when you least expect it he will in some way un-
known to you communicate with the wicket-keeper and fielders,
and the next attempt may end in you or your partner being
run out. A deal of harm has been done even if you just saved
it by an inch or two, and you will be in a most unhappy state
of mind for some time afterwards. It dawns upon you that there
was a degree of stupidity in the attempt, and it does not im-
prove your temper to have words of caution showered upon
you from the pavilion. The state of the game, the condition
of the score did not demand it, and you will be very lucky if

30 4 CRICKET.

you realise the fact, and recover your usual coolness and con-
fidence before resuming your innings.

Exercise judgment when running out big hits. If you find
the fielders a little careless in throwing in, you may make a five
out of what looked like a four ; but remember that to do this you
will have to make an exceptional effort that will try your wind.
And now you have the opportunity to show if your head is
of the thoughtful kind. The bowler will be delighted if he
can tempt you to play the next ball before you have got rid
of the flurry and excitement, and you will be looked upon as
very obliging and thoughtless if you do. Very likely you have
resumed your position in front of the wicket with no intention
of playing for a second or two ; perhaps the bowler is aware of
the fact, but that does not prevent him from bowling at you in
the hope that you may change your mind. Do not blame him
if you play and are bowled. He was not supposed to know
that you were not ready, and you had no right to be there re-
covering your breath ; it will come back as freely to you a yard
or two away from the wicket as in front of it, and neither
bowler nor fielders ought to blame you for waiting for that
purpose. You are playing the game for your side as well
as your individual reputation, and ought to take all needful pre-
cautions.

Be careful what you take to drink during a long innings.
If you are not accustomed to large scoring you are sure to feel
thirsty, and your mouth will become very dry before you have
made many runs. A big drink at this or any other time when
you are in is a great mistake. For the moment you feel as if
you must quench your thirst, or you cannot go on ; you must,
however, refrain, for there is nothing so insidious and infectious
as indulgence in drinks of any kind. In half an hour you will
want another, and the fieldsmen generally will sympathise and
lean to your way of thinking. Then there will be five minutes'
break, you will probably lose sight of the ball, and very likely
get out immediately after. If you must have something, call
for a little water : it will answer the purpose perfectly. Rinse

HOW TO SCORE. 305

your mouth with it, swallow as little as possible, and the thirst
will quickly pass away.

It is the first long innings that requires nerve and judgment.
The hopes and fears that spring up in the young player's
breast when he has scored something between fifty and a
hundred make it a severe trial ; and I daresay if you and I could
read his thoughts we should find that every run of the last ten
was made in mental fear accompanied by a thumping heart.
But when the hundred is reached, who can describe the joy
that thrills him as he hears the hand-clapping and shouting !

I will not say, be modest in the hour of victory, but rather
be modest after it. It is after the victory, as we listen to out-
side praise, that conceit and its enervating influence steal in.
Turn a deaf ear, and remember it was in fear and trembling
that you reached the much-desired score. Quiet confidence is
a widely different thing from conceit. The former will help
you to a run of big scores, the latter will cripple every effort to
sustain your hardly earned reputation.

So far I have not touched upon the different wickets that are
met with during the season. There have been years, such as
1887, when the weather has continued dry and fine for weeks,
and the change from ground to ground was hardly perceptible ;
but I have known the wicket to change in a single match from
dry, fast and true, to wet and soft, and then to have finished
sticky and unplayable. Anyone who can score heavily through
changes of that kind will be exceptionally fortunate. I ven-
ture to think it may be of some use to young cricketers if I
tell them how they should play under these different conditions
of ground. I will begin with what is known as a fast, dry and
true wicket.

This is the wicket which all good cricketers like to play on,
and, if it does not crumble before the match is finished, long
scores may be expected. Never hesitate to play forward on a
wicket of this kind, for the bowler can get little or no work on
the ball, and, what is more, the further it is pitched up and the
faster it comes along, the easier it is to play it forward and the

x

306 CRICKET.

more difficult to play it back. On such a wicket as this do not
go in for lofty and 'gallery' hitting, or you will very likely
throw away your chance of making a long score. If the bowler
gives you a ball well up, instead of hitting very hard at it, I
should advise you to drive it along the ground ; although you
may not score so many runs for it, still you do not incur the
risk of being caught out, and you will get the applause of those
who know what scientific batting means. Cuts and leg-hits
travel at a rare pace on a good fast ground, and timing and
placing are of more importance than strength. A snick to long-
leg may bring more runs than a hard hit straight, and a tap
past long-slip goes flying to the boundary with a very small
expenditure of strength. Most long scores have been made
on a wicket of this description, and you do not tire half so much
as you would if the wicket were wet and heavy.

In the season 1876 — one of my best years — I remember play
ing in three matches following each other when the ground
was fast, dry and true. The first match was at Canterbury, for
Marylebone C.C. v. Kent. Kent made the long score of 473,
chiefly owing to the magnificent batting of Lord Harris, who
made 154. We responded with the comparatively small total
of 144. To follow on with so large a deficit was not encou-
raging; but the wicket was still everything to be desired in
pace and quality, and I made up my mind to play a fast game,
knowing that the bowler could get little or no work on the ball,
and that any attempt to play carefully for a draw would be
useless. It is now a matter of history that we scored the first
100 in forty-five minutes, 217 well under the two hours, and
finished up with a total of 557 for nine wickets, converting
what appeared to be inevitable defeat into a creditable draw. It
took me a little over six hours to make my 344 ; but so good
and fast was the wicket that I played forward to most of the
good balls.

Two days after, on a similar wicket against Notts, playing
for Gloucestershire at Clifton, I made 177, and the same week
3 1 8 not out, against Yorkshire at Cheltenham. The last wicket

HOW TO SCORE. 307

was one of the very best I ever played on, and right through
the innings I could play forward without danger to nearly
every ball bowled. Remember, then, on a wicket of this kind
to play forward as much as possible.

I come now to a fast, good, wet wicket. It may surprise a
great many players when I say, play almost the same way as
upon a fast dry wicket. The bowler has still as much difficulty
in getting work on the ball, as it cuts through the ground and
he cannot hold it owing to its wet and slippery state, and
you will find playing forward the better way. You will
have to be a little more watchful, for some balls will keep
low and travel at a terrific rate after they pitch, and should you
get a shooter it will come to you even faster than on a dry
wicket. Batsmen on our perfect wickets of to-day think a
ball that keeps low is a shooter ; but I wish they could come
across the shooters we used to have at Lord's ground twenty
years ago. They seemed completely to baffle some players,
and gave them the impression that the ball, instead of travelling
all along the'' ground, went under it and came up again at the
bottom of the wickets.

Of course you will distinguish between a fast wet wicket
and one that is not thoroughly saturated. The latter, though
perhaps quite as true, will not be so fast, nor will runs come so
quickly. A wicket of this kind was formerly considered much
in favour of the bowler ; but that opinion has been upset, and
a good punishing batsman, who takes no liberties, has the
bowler pretty much at his mercy. • In 1873, on a wicket of this
kind, I made 160 not out for Gloucestershire v. Surrey at
Clifton. In the early part of the innings the wicket was fast
and wet, and the ball travelled at a rare pace ; but later on it
became softer, and the ball did not travel so well.

A slow, good, dry wicket. You will occasionally meet with
this kind of wicket after rain, when the ground has not had
time to dry sufficiently to make it fast. The bowler can get
more break on than he can on a good fast wicket, but the ball
rises slowly off the pitch and you have plenty of time to

x 2

3 o8 CRICKET.

watch it. You will rarely get a ball higher than the bails, and
you can play forward or back as the pitch admits. When
playing forward, you must not play too quickly, as the ball
sometimes hangs a bit and you may play it back to the bowler.
It was on a wicket of this kind at Clifton College ground that I
scored a hundred in each innings for Gloucestershire v. Kent
in 1887. The first day the wicket was perfect of its kind,
every ball coming easy and with very little break, travelling
quickly when hit, as the outside ground was much harder than
the pitch, which had been watered. I made 10 1 in less than
three hours. Rain stopped play for some time on the second
afternoon, Friday, but by Saturday afternoon the wicket re-
covered, and I scored 103 not out in two hours and twenty
minutes. Years ago, when youth was more on my side, I pre-
ferred a very fast dry wicket ; but now I confess to a leaning
for a good, slow, and dry one.

The three wickets I have described must be considered easy,
and attention to the points I touched upon at the beginning
should help the batsman to score largely. I now come to two
of a very different nature, on which, as a rule, the bowler has a
high time of it, and where special nerve, skill, judgment, and
luck on the part of the batsman are required before he can
make a large score.

First, a bumpy wicket. By a bumpy wicket I do not mean
a fast fiery wicket where the ball only goes over the top of the
stumps and raps the knuckles occasionally, but a wicket upon
which you may get a shooter one over and a blow on the chest
the next, as a pleasing variety to those that come frequently
right over your head the first bound and straight into the hands
of the long-stop without again touching the ground. I can
assure all young players that there is a new and curious sensa-
tion in facing balls of this kind. Skill, patience, a quick eye
and ready arm are useful for the occasion, but dogged pluck is
worth the whole of them. Do not let thoughts of hard knocks
trouble you, or your chance of scoring even a double figure
will be remote. Take your position at the wicket in your usual

HOW TO SCORE. 309

way, stand up to the bowling pluckily, and do not have it said
of you that you are only a good wicket player. On a ground
of this kind every run is valuable, and you may risk stealing a
sharp run or two now and then. One of your side may make
fifty or more runs, but the average score is sure to be small,
and you must face the possibility of hard knocks and play as
if you expected every ball to come true and a large score de-
pended upon you. I am glad to be able to say that, owing to
the general improvement that has taken place in the principal
grounds, you rarely now meet with a bumpy wicket. When
the Yorkshire County Eleven made their first appearance at
Lord's in 1870 to play against the M.C.C. and Ground, the
wicket was as bumpy as a wicket could be, and very few players
on either side escaped knocks of some kind. It was the first
match in which the alteration in law 9 came into operation, by
which a bowler could change ends twice in the same innings
but not bowl more than two overs in- succession ; and Alfred
Shaw and Wootton availed themselves of it in the second
innings of Yorkshire. The M.C.C. went in first to the bowling
of Freeman and Emmett, and were all out for 73. Yorkshire
made 91, George Pinder, the well-known Yorkshire wicket-
keeper, who was playing for the first time at Lord's, contribut-
ing 31. The prospect in our second innings was not encourag-
ing, and the wicket anything but good, when that accomplished
Essex sportsman, Mr. C. E. Green, joined me ; but if ever a
good and sterling cricketer played pluckily under adverse
circumstances, Mr. Green did that day, and in seventy minutes
we scored 99 runs. Freeman bowled a terrific pace, and Em-
mett was in his glory, his bowling bumping and kicking up as
I have never seen it since. We were hit all over the body, Mr.
Green twice painfully hard on the chest ; but he was cool and
cheerful, and made 51 in his best style — and that is saying a
great deal considering the number of balls he had to dodge
with his head. Just before I was out, last man, Emmett
bowled a ball which hit me very hard on the point of the left
elbow, the ball flew into the air, and we ran a run before it

3io CRICKET.

came down into short-leg's hands ; but I could not hold the
bat properly afterwards, and was glad when the innings was
over. I made 66, and our total was 161. Freeman, Iddison,
Pinder and Wootton were all badly knocked about. York-
shire won by one wicket ; thanks to the plucky hitting of Luke
Greenwood and the steady batting of Emmett.

Now I come to a drying, sticky wicket. This is about the
worst you can play upon, and he who scores largely on it de-
serves to be praised indeed. If the bowling be indifferent the
player who can pull or hit a long hop to leg has a decided ad-
vantage, as the ball hangs a great deal at times and favours that
kind of play. If the bowler be on the spot, then tall scoring
is an impossibility. The work to be got on the ball is as-
tounding ; I have seen balls break a foot or more.

This kind of wicket is oftener seen at Lord's after a good
deal of rain and a drying sun than anywhere else. We all re-
member that great match when the Australians made their first
appearance there in 1878. I had a fair conception of what
might happen, and after hitting the first ball of the match
to the boundary was not surprised at being caught out from
the fourth. One ball of Spofforth's was enough for me the
second innings. The best advice I can give is to watch every
ball on a wicket of that kind, and score when you can.

In conclusion, never treat a straight ball with contempt,
however badly bowled. I have met with a ball that bounded
twice or thrice before it came to me, varying every bound and
at the finish twisting or shooting,* and becoming a very difficult
ball indeed. I have made it a rule all my life to hit a straight
long hop or full -pitch with a straight or nearly straight bat, so
that when a ball of this kind was bowled to me I had the full
length of my bat to play it with, whereas if I had tried to pull
or hit across at it, I should only have had the width of my bat,
and should have been more likely to miss it.

When an indifferent bowler is put on, you cannot be too
careful. He is put on to tempt you to hit, and does not mind
how many runs you score off him ; but presently you will get a

HOW TO SCORE. 311

good ball, and if you are not careful, especially if you are
trying to bring off a favourite stroke, you will hit at it and very
likely lose your wicket.

After you have made a boundary hit do not make up your
mind to hit another off the next ball.

Keep your eye on the bowler, watch how he holds the ball
and runs up to the wicket before delivering it ; that will help
you considerably to detect alteration in length and pace.

It is a mistake to hit at the pitch of slow, round, or under-
hand bowling. The twist is sure to beat you, and if you do
not miss the ball altogether, you will most likely get caught at
cover-point. In my younger days I always ran out to under-
hand bowling and hit it before it bounded, or waited and got
it long hop. When a first-class bowler tries to bowl a slow
ball with an extra amount of break, look out for a bad ball, and
when it comes, as it will sooner or later, punish it, and you
will upset him a bit, and very likely prevent him from bowling
good balls afterwards.

I think I have touched upon nearly everything that might
help a young player to a long score, and with just a word
about playing against odds I have done. Whether against
eighteen or twenty-two in the field, play the same game that
you would against an eleven. I have very often found that
the fieldsmen in the outfield are placed too deep, and a
second run can be stolen after the ball passes the men close
in. Do not hit to leg, but rather place or snick the ball ; you
will get just as many runs without the risk of being caught.
It was when playing against odds that fine placing to leg was
first cultivated, and now it has to a great extent superseded leg
hitting.

I need not say how delighted I am to watch the progress
of every young and rising cricketer. My heart is in the game
I love above all others, with a love that is as strong to-day as
it was when I made my first large score, and when eye, hand,
and foot were much quicker than they are now. I do not
believe that there are no days like the good old days of cricket.

3 i2 CRICKET.

but I do strongly believe that the prospects of the game are as
bright and hopeful to-day as they have been at any time in
its history, and that in future years as great if not greater things
will be done with both bat and ball. I ask every young
cricketer to study the points I have submitted, and it will be
sufficient reward to me if they in some way help him to make
a big score.

3*3

CHAPTER X.

THE AUSTRALIANS.

(By A. G. Steel.)

Not until Monday, May 27, 1878, did the English public take
any real interest in Australian cricket, though in 1877 in their
own country the Australians had defeated Lillywhite's eleven
on even terms. Prior to this date four English teams had
visited Australia, but their doings, though recorded in the
press, did not interest the cricket community at home. The
Australian players met with in the Colonies were no doubt
learning from the English teams they had seen and played
against, but the idea that they were up to the standard of
English first-class cricket seemed absurd ; and to a certain
extent this estimate was justified by the records of the English
visitors. In 1862 H. H. Stephenson, Surrey player and hunts-
man, took out twelve professional players to the Colonies
under the auspices of Messrs. Spiers and Pond. They
played twelve matches against eighteens and twenty-twos,
won six, lost two, and drew four. In 1864, two years later,
George Parr took out a team, which played sixteen matches
against twenty-twos, and was not beaten at all. In 1873 Mr.
W. G. Grace visited the antipodes at the request of the
Melbourne Cricket Club ; his eleven played fifteen matches,
all against odds, won ten, lost three, and drew two. . In 1876
James Lillywhite followed, and it was during this tour that the
Australians first won a match on equal terms. Lillywhite's team
played Australia on March 15, 16 and 17, 1877, with the result
that Australia won by 45 runs. This match was noteworthy
for another reason. C. Bannerman made 165 for Australia,

3M CRICKET.

and was the first amongst Australian batsmen to score a hun-
dred against English bowlers. Now, though English cricketers
had been beaten on even terms as recently as 1877, the fact
seemed to have been lost sight of at home in 1878, and when
the first Australian eleven that ever visited England arrived
early in the latter year, it never occurred to anyone that it
could have any chance of actually storming the citadel of
English cricket with success. On May 27, 1878, English
cricket and its lovers received a serious shock, as on that day,
in the extraordinarily short space of four and a half hours, a very-
fair team of the M.C.C. were beaten by nine wickets. The
famous English club was certainly well represented, seeing that
W. G. Grace, A. W. Ridley, A. J. Webbe, A. N. Hornby, Shaw,
and Morley did battle for it. Gregory's team, as the Australians
were called, had a very successful season, beating, in addition
to M.C.C., Yorkshire, Surrey, Middlesex, Leicestershire, Sussex,
Gloucestershire, and a bad eleven of the ' Players,' and being
beaten by Nottingham, the Gentlemen of England, Yorkshire,
and Cambridge, the latter the most decisive defeat of all.

The British public were surprised at these results, especially
as it had expected so little from the visitors. Many of
the lower classes were so ignorant of Australia itself, to say
nothing of the cricket capabilities of its inhabitants, that they
fully expected to find the members of Gregory's team black as
the Aborigines. We remember the late Rev. Arthur Ward
1 putting his foot into it ' on this subject before some of the
Australians. One day in the pavilion at Lord's, the writer,
who had been chosen to represent the Gentlemen of England
against the visitors in a forthcoming match, was sitting
beside Spofforth watching a game, in which neither was taking
part. Mr. Ward coming up, accosted the writer, 'Well, Mr.
Steel, so I hear you are going to play against the niggers on
Monday ? ' His face was a picture when Spofforth was intro-
duced to him as the 'demon nigger bowler.' Gregory's team,
in the writer's opinion, contained four really good bowlers :
Spofforth, Boyle, Allan, and Garrett, and two fair changes in

THE AUSTRALIANS. 315

Midwinter and Horan, but as batsmen they were poor when
compared with England's best.

Charles Bannerman was a most dashing player, his off-
driving being magnificent, and Horan and Murdoch were
fairish batsmen. Murdoch then was very different to the
Murdoch of 1882 and 1884 j but the rest were rough and
untutored, more like country cricketers than correct players.
Had this team come to England in a dry instead of a wet season,
it would probably have had a very different record at the end of
its visit. Spofforth, Boyle and Garrett were most deadly to the
best batsmen on the soft, caked wickets they so often had to assist
them ; and the Australian batsmen, with the rough crossbat style
which distinguished the majority, were just as likely to knock up
fifteen to twenty runs on a bad wicket as on a good one. Nothing
brings good and bad batsmen so close together as bad wet
seasons. When Cambridge University met them the match
was played on a hard true wicket, the Australian bowling was
thoroughly collared, and none of the eleven, except Murdo'ch,
C. Bannerman, and perhaps Horan, showed any signs of being
able to play correct cricket on a hard ground.

Gregory's team, however, had a wonderfully stimulating
effect on English cricket. Their record taught us that the
Australians could produce men to beat most of the counties,
and who mighty after a year or two of experience, play a very
good game with a picked team of England.

In 1880 W. L. Murdoch brought over a Colonial team to
England. The close of the season showed that in the eleven-
a-side matches, Derbyshire, Yorkshire, Gloucestershire, and a
good eleven of the Players of England had been beaten, while
only two matches had been lost : Nottingham succeeded in
winning by one wicket, and England by five wickets. This
latter match was the first in which a picked team of England did
battle against the Australians, and the excitement was intense.
It was most interesting, and will be ever memorable for the
splendid innings of W. G. Grace and W. L. Murdoch, who
made 152 and 153 respectively, the latter being not out

316 CRICKET.

England's first innings was 420, Australia's 149 ; the latter
followed on, and when the last man, W. H. Moule, came in
there were still wanting 32 runs to save the innings defeat.
Moule played a stubborn game with his captain, and put on 88
for the last wicket. How England lost five wickets on a
goodish wicket in getting 5 7 runs will never be forgotten. The
writer had taken off his cricket clothes at the end of the Austra-
lians' second innings, thinking all would soon be over ; but
cricket is a strange game, and he soon had to put them on again.
The result of the first pitched battle between England and Aus-
tralia, though a win of five wickets for the former, was a marvel-
lous performance on the part of the Australians ; indeed, seeing
how far they were left behind on the first innings, it was one of
the best things ever done at cricket to get so near the victors
at the finish, especially as the wicket on the last innings was
not to be found fault with. It should also be mentioned in fair-
ness to the Australians that their best bowler, Spofforth, was
prevented by an accident from taking part in this match.

The next team that visited England was in 1882, and was
again under the captaincy of W. L. Murdoch. On this occa-
sion G. Giffen, S. P. Jones, and H. H. Massie were introduced
to the British public for the first time. As this eleven suc-
ceeded in defeating England, and was perhaps the best that
ever represented the Colonies, we record the names : — A. C.
Bannerman, J. M. Blackham, G. J. Bonnor, H. F. Boyle,
P. S. McDonnell, W. L. Murdoch, G. E. Palmer, F. R. Spofforth,
T. W. Garrett, T. Horan, and the three new players above
mentioned. The result at the end of the season was :
Matches played, 38 : won, 23 ; lost, 4 ; drawn, n ; Notting-
ham beaten once, Lancashire once, Yorkshire three times,
the Gentlemen of England once, and Oxford University
once. The four defeats were by Cambridge University, the
Players of England, Cambridge Past and Present, and the
North of England. This team played the second pitched
battle between Australia and England on Monday, August
28, and after the close finish and creditable display made in

THE AUSTRALIANS. 317

1880 against England by worse players, the match created the
most intense excitement. The Australians went first to the
wickets, which were very sticky, and were all disposed of for
63. England topped this by 38. Prior to the beginning of
Australia's second innings, a heavy shower deluged the ground.
Going in on the wet cutting- through wicket, Massie hit the
incapacitated bowlers all over the field, and when the first
wicket fell for 66 had scored 55 out of that number. With the
exception of Murdoch and Bannerman, nobody else troubled
the English bowlers, and the ground rapidly drying and caking,
the whole side were disposed of for 122. The Englishmen
wanted 85 to win, and when the score was at 5 1 for one wicket,
it seemed as if the game were over. Spofforth, however, was
bowling splendidly, and the wicket had become most difficult.
He was bowling over medium pace, coming back many inches,
and often getting up to an uncomfortable height. The English
batsmen could do nothing with him, and, after the keenest
excitement, the game ended in a well-won victory for the
Australians by 7 runs. Though this defeat was a great blow to
the English representatives, there were none who grudged
Australia her success, which was obtained by sound and sterling
cricket. We think there is no doubt that the 1882 team was
better than the next one in 1884. In 1882 they had as bowlers
Boyle, Spofforth, Palmer, Garrett, and Giffen j in 1884 they
had Spofforth, Palmer, Boyle, Giffen, and Midwinter, but they
had lost Garrett. The '82 team contained two excellent bats-
men in Horan and Massie, whose absence was not sufficiently
compensated for by Scott and Midwinter. Murdoch, Horan,
Giffen, Blackham, were all likely to make runs, while Massie,
Bonnor, and McDonnell often succeeded on the worst wicket
in making mincemeat of any bowling.

In 1884 W. L. Murdoch again brought over an Australian
team to England, and played thirty-two matches, winning eight
and losing seven. This time it was decided by the English
authorities not to allow the fame of English cricket to depend
on the result of one match only, but on the best of three, and

3 i8 CRICKET.

accordingly three matches were arranged to be played between
England and Australia, one at Manchester, the second at
Lord's, and the third at the Oval. The first, at Manchester, was
seriously interfered with by the weather. Rain prevented any
play on the first day. England began to bat on a sodden
wicket and made 95, and Murdoch's team responded with 182.
England had now a difficult task to prevent being beaten, but
at the end of the match were 92 runs on, and one wicket to
fall. This was doubtless a draw in favour of the Australians,
but still a hundred runs on a bad wicket against the flower of
English bowling take a lot of getting, and it must be remem-
bered that a month before the Australian team were all disposed
of for 60 on a sticky wicket by Peate and Emmett. The second
match was at Lord's, and was the only one of the three that
was finished. England won easily by an innings and 5 runs.
The earlier teams of the Australians never appeared to ad-
vantage at Lord's. The later ones, however, have done better
on that ground. The third match, at the Oval, was a memorable
one. The Australians won the toss, went in on a perfect
wicket, and made the terrific score of 551 : McDonnell 103,
Murdoch 211, Scott 102. This was a truly great performance,
and it was remarkable that every member of the English team
tried his hand with the ball, by far the most successful having
been the Honourable A. Lyttelton with the analysis of four
wickets for 19 runs. England made 346 first innings, in which
was a magnificent display from W. W. Read of 117. In the
second innings England made 85 for two wickets, and thus re-
quired 120 runs on a true wicket with seven good batsmen to
save the single innings defeat.

The next team that visited England was in 1886, H. J. H.
Scott being the captain. This is memorable as the first
Australian team in England that did not contain W. L. Murdoch.
Several unknown men now made their appearance, W. Bruce,
E. Evans, J. Mcllwraith, and J. W. Trumble, but this was un-
doubtedly less successful than any of the previous teams.
Their season's record showed : Matches played, 38 ; won, 9 ;

THE AUSTRALIANS. 319

lost, 7 ; drawn, 22. Here again, as in 1884, England v.
Australia was to be played at Manchester, Lord's, and the
Oval ; but it is unnecessary to give an account of these
three matches. It will suffice to say that at Manchester
England won by four wickets, at Lord's by an innings and 106
runs, and at the Oval by an innings and 217 runs.

The sixth Australian team visited us in 1888, and as W. L.
Murdoch had at that time practically retired from first-class
cricket, the captaincy devolved upon that sterling hitter, P. S.
McDonnell. This team, though including some excellent players
at all branches of the game, cannot be considered equal in
merit to that of 1882. Three representative matches were again
arranged, as in 1886. The first was played at Lord's upon a
wicket deluged with rain, and the Australians won in a small-
scoring match by 61 runs. They won on their merits as the
game was played, and the English batsmen on that occasion
deserved to lose. On a most difficult wicket, and against
C. T. B. Turner and J. J. Ferris's bowling, they poked and
scraped about, and seemed utterly unable to realise what each
Australian batsman had done, viz. that to make runs under
such circumstances the bat must be used vigorously. Though
the Australians here scored their second success since 1878 in
England in a representative match, the supporters of England
were in nowise satisfied that the Australians had the better
side. Two really good bowlers their opponents had in Turner
and Ferris, but no one else on their side had any pretensions
to being called first-class in this department of the game. Their
batting, taken as a whole, was weak — McDonnell, of course, was
a fine player, but the rest could not be compared to our best
English batsmen. Then their fielding was hardly up to the
standard of previous colonial teams. Altogether the English side
did not fear the result of the next two matches if played under
ordinary conditions of weather and luck. The second match,
at the Oval, resulted in a win for England by an innings and
137 runs, and the third, played at Manchester, in another win
for the same side by an innings and 21 runs. The feature of

320 CRICKET.

the season's cricket played by this side was the bowling of
C. T. B. Turner and J. J. Ferris. Turner's analysis was
remarkable — 314 wickets for 3,492 runs, giving the excellent
average of 1 1 '38. This bowler is undoubtedly entitled to take
rank amongst the really great bowlers of this generation of
cricketers. J. J. Ferris, though he met with wonderful success
this season (1888), was never in the same class as C. T. B.
Turner.

The next Australian team that came to England was in
1890, and W. L. Murdoch, after five years' absence from first-
class cricket, consented to once again act as captain. The
result of this trip was anything but a success from a cricket
point of view, and indeed the team was not competent to cope
with England's best. Six of this team made their first visit to
England, viz. Messrs. Charlton, Gregory, Walters, Barrett,
H. Trumble, and Burn. The batting of this team was distinctly
indifferent, though Murdoch showed on occasions he had not
altogether lost his skill ; he was not, however, the Murdoch of
1882. Messrs. Turner and Ferris again bore the brunt of the
attack ; they each took the same number of wickets during the
tour, viz. 215. The former's average was slightly the better of
the two ; how, in view of Ferris's performances since 1890 in
England, he managed to run Turner so close for the highest
bowling honours will always remain a mystery. The first of
the three representative matches England won by seven wickets
at Lord's. The feature of this match was that, though the
Australians made 132 and 176 and the English team 173 and
137 for 3 wickets, there was not one bye scored to either side
in the match. This is a wonderful testimonial to J. M. Black-
ham and G. McGregor, the respective wicket-keepers for
Australia and England. The second match England v.
Australia was played at the Oval, and a good game resulted in
the defeat of the latter by two wickets ; it was a close finish, and
the Australians deserved great credit for so nearly defeating
such a powerful side as represented England on that occasion.
The third match, arranged to be played at Manchester, was

THE AUSTRALIANS, 321

never even begun owing to the incessant rain which deluged
the ground on all three days.

In 1893 the eighth Australian eleven came over, and
carried with it great hopes of their own countrymen. It had
some good batsmen — Trott, Lyons, Bannerman, Giffen, Bruce,
Graham, and Gregory, but none of them except Giffen could
then compare with the best English bats, and Giffen, for some
reason, has r ever done himself justice as a batsman in any of
these trips. The bowlers were Turner, H. Trumble, Giffen,
R. McLeod, Trott, and Bruce. Giffen at times bowled very
finely, and Turner bowled well, but not so successfully as of
yore. H. Trumble also proved himself to be an excellent
bowler, but the combination was not strong enough, espe-
cially in a fine season, to win the rubber against England.
Unfortunately only one of the three matches was finished,
and this resulted in a win for England by an innings and
43 runs.

In 1896 the ninth eleven that visited England, under the
leadership of Trott, proved a good side, far the best that had
been over since 1884, and from this date the efficiency of
Australian cricket began to rise, until at the time of writing
(April 1898) it stands as high as it ever did. Before discuss-
ing this eleven it will be well briefly to review the result of five
remarkable test matches played in Australia in the winter of
1895 and 1896 between Stoddart's eleven and the Australians.
Stoddart's eleven was very good, but nobody could say that at
that time it was the best that England could have sent. Grace,
Jackson, Gunn, Storer, and Abel might with advantage have
taken the places of Humphreys, Brockwell, Philipson, Briggs,
and Lockwood ; but still it was a good team, and it won three
out of the five test matches.

Under any circumstances this must always remain a great
feat, for each side possess a great advantage when playing
in their own country, but on looking carefully into these
five matches as a whole, it must be confessed that Stod-
dart must have been greatly helped by the selection and

Y

3 22 CRICKET.

captaincy of the Colonists. Giffen's view of his duties of
captain was the very erroneous one that it was essential
that he should be bowling at one end nearly the whole time.
In the first match he bowled 118 overs, while Turner and
Jones were only allowed to bowl 117 overs between them.
In the second match he magnanimously did not go on in the
first innings on a wet wicket, but made up for it by bowling
23 more overs than anyone else in the second innings, and
in the last match he bowled while 236 runs were scored off
him, and H. Trumble, who was on all wickets the best bowler
in Australia, was only selected to play in one of the matches.
Stoddart's side, however, batted finely, and Richardson proved
himself at that time to be far the best bowler in the world.

When they came to England in 1896 they brought GifTen,
but wisely made Trott captain, and Hill and Darling showed
symptoms of developing into the very high position they now
hold, and the whole eleven proved themselves a difficult side
to get out. Gregory, Darling, Hill, Iredale, Trott, Giffen, and
Donnan all scored a thousand runs in the season, and Trumble,
Jones, McKibbin, and Giffen each secured over a hundred
wickets, and H. Trumble on all wickets was not excelled by
any bowler in the two countries. The eleven played a safe
game ; there was no McDonnell or Lyons in the side, but they
took a lot of getting out, though, as might be supposed in the
case of a side where there was no hitter, they were weak on soft
wickets.

Such was the situation when the last disastrous visit of
Stoddart's eleven took place in 1897 and 1898, and though
the result of this tour is very recent history, it is so important and
raises such misgivings for the future that it is well to consider
it at some length.

In the first place no eleven has ever left England with so
much of their countrymen's confidence as this eleven of
Stoddart's. A great many thought that it was absolutely the
best selection that could have been made. It is easy to be
wise after the event, but even now it is not at all certain that

THE AUSTRALIANS. 323

the bowling could be improved, and this was the notorious
weak spot of the eleven. In another part of this work is
given a possible first eleven of England, but this selection is
given, as far as the bowlers are concerned, with no great con-
fidence, and the truth must sadly be confessed that unless we
mend our bowling ways we shall very likely be defeated in our
own country by the Australians in 1899. Up to the end of
the first test match Stoddart's eleven had a blaze of triumph in
spite of the abnormal heat which knocked up more than one
of our eleven. Stoddart had no doubt the worst of the luck in
losing the toss three times in the first four test matches, but,
unluckily, what many of us dreaded occurred in the last match
— he won the toss and lost the match. MacLaren and Ranjit-
sinhji batted grandly, Storer, Hayward, and Druce passably,
but the rest proved more or less a failure, while on Australian
wickets against weak English bowling the batting of Darling
and Hill was superb, and that of C. McLeod, Gregory,
Iredale, Trumble, and Trott very good. But our team as a
whole were not strong enough in batting to make up for our
bowling weakness, and in a word the Australians thoroughly
outbowled us.

The Australians in the first test match played the bowlers
who had performed so well in England in 1896, with the
addition of C. McLeod, but in subsequent matches they
played Noble and Howell, and these two bowlers have the
knack of variety in their bowling, and this, combined with the
pace of Jones and the admirable steadiness and break of
Trumble, made a combination of bowlers that on good hard
wickets has never been surpassed. It is the future that
troubles us ; where are our bowlers ? In old days we could
get one first-class bowler a year out of Nottingham alone, but
the supply seems to have come to an end ; but from somewhere
must come some bowlers of variety of pace, break, and head,
or the old country must be content to take the lower room.
But if 1899 should turn out to be a wet year a very different
tale may have to be told.

v 2

324

CR1CKR T.

Taking both countries, and excluding the Manchester
match in 1890, abandoned on account of weather, fifty-one test
matches have now been played,- of which England has won
twenty-six, fourteen in Australia and twelve at home, Australia
nineteen, of which all but three were in Australia, and six have
been drawn.

The leading averages in batting in all the series, in both
countries, of test matches frOm 1880 to 1898 inclusive may
prove of interest at this stage, but of course we exclude the
players who only played in comparatively few matches, and we
limit the number of innings to a minimum of twelve. The
averages are as follows : —

Batsmen

No. of
Innings

Times not
out

Total runs

Average

K. S. Ranjitsinhji .

12

2

692

57'8 "

F. A. Iredale . ...

18

O

705

39'3

C. Hill . . .

12

O

467

38-n

A. Shrewsbury

36

4

1,277

35-17

A. E. Stoddart

28

2

996

35-i6

A. C. MacLaren

22

2

769

34-i6

A. G. Steel .

17

3

586

34-8

W. G. Grace .

32

4

• 1,079

33*23

\V. L. Murdoch

27

3

885

32-21

Like all tables of averages the above is misleading. Players
like Grace, Murdoch, and Shrewsbury played in the days when
runs were not. so easily got, and their performances may rank
on a par with those of MacLaren, Ranjitsinhji, and Hill, and, of
course, there have been many innings played against equally
good bowling, but not in matches of England v Australia.
No innings of greater merit has, however, been played than
Murdoch's innings of 153 not out against England at the Oval
in 1880.

With regard to the merits of the English and Australian
bowlers, we think there are few English cricketers who would
deny that Spofforth is the best bowler ever seen on English

THE AUSTRALIANS.

325

grounds, at any rate in modern times, and yet the statistics
show that he is not at the head of the average list.

The following is the list of the first twelve bowlers : —

Lohmann
Peel

Turner .
Spofforth
Boyle .
Briggs .
Hearne .
Palmer .
Richardson
Giffen .
Trumble .
Jones

Balls

Runs

2,86l
4,891
4,423
4,137
1,620

3,403
1,732
4,463
4,017
5,962
2,723

i,537

875
1,715
i,5io
1,714

598
1,569

761
1,678
2,221
2,793
1,213

850

Wickets

Average

6l

14

IOI

16

84

17

93

18

30

19

76

20

35

20

78

21

88

25

103

26

. 47

26

29

29

Spofforth, although fourth only in the above table, was on
the whole the greatest bowler, for many of his great feats were
performed in other almost as important matches, and it must
also be remembered that he never bowled for maidens ; but
the figures of Peel, who in test matches has bowled more balls
than anybody, come up remarkably well, and considering the
number of balls he bowled his record is an extraordinary one.

In addition to Spofforth, the Australians have had a wonder-
fully good lot of bowlers : Palmer, Garrett, Boyle, Allan, Evans,
G. Giffen, and since 1886— when this chapter was first writ-
ten — Turner, Ferris, and H. Trumble, and, as far as can be
gathered from the disastrous tour of Mr. Stoddart's eleven in
1897-8, Noble, Howell, and Jones. Although the previous
remarks about Spofforth were written before Turner made
such a wonderful record on our English grounds, we still think
Spofforth the best of all the bowlers. It appears extraordinary
at first sight that a country whose whole population does not
exceed that of London should in the course of a few years
have been able to develop such exceptional talent. We believe,
however, that Australia will always possess excellent bowlers,

326 CRICKET.

for the following reason. In Melbourne, Sydney, and Adelaide,
the chief nurseries of Australian cricket, the grounds are so
excellent, and usually so hard and fast, that no bowler can
possibly expect the slightest amount of success unless he
possesses some peculiarity of style or action, pace or power,
over the ball ; mere pace and accuracy are of no avail. On
the hardest and best wickets it must be laid down as an axiom
that bowlers with change of pace and turn must form the
bowling backbone of the future best eleven, and these qualities
the young Australian cultivates with greater success than the
English. In England the conditions are different, as, by
reason of our variable climate, naturally weak bowling often
becomes most effective. Young Australian bowlers have also
ample opportunity for gaining experience and developing their
skill, as there is in the colonies a very great dearth of the
professional element. Members of the same club have to rely
for their batting practice on the bowling of one another, and
their bowlers come to acquire some of the peculiarities above
mentioned that will strike terror into the hearts of their oppo-
nents in the next tie of the cup contests. These cup contests
in Australia are an excellent institution, as professionalism is
barred. They produce the greatest interest and excitement,
and each club does its utmost to secure the much-coveted
distinction of being premier club for the season. The Australian
climate is a great aid to bowling and fielding. Its warmth and
mildness prevent the rheumatic affections that so often attack
the arms and shoulders of our players, and the Australians con-
sequently retain their suppleness of limb and activity of youth
longer than their English cousins. Nothing illustrates this
better than the prevalence of good throwing amongst Australian
fieldsmen. The every-day sight on our own grounds of a man
who has thrown his arm out and can do nothing but jerk is
almost unknown in Australia ; even colonials who have passed
their cricket prime and have reached the age of thirty-eight or
forty can still throw with much the same dash as of old. In
our county teams we find a woeful deficiency in this essential

THE AUSTRALIANS. 327

to good fielding ; the cold and damp of our northern climate
having penetrated into the bones and created a chronic and
incurable stiffness.

One occasionally hears a really good cricket story in Austra-
lia. The following was vouched for as a fact by several leading
members of Australian cricket, and was told me as illustrative
of the skill and dash of some great fieldsman whom I have
never had the good fortune to meet. This man was standing
coverpoint one day — his usual place in the field. He was mar-
vellously quick, sometimes indeed his returns were so smart
that none could tell whether he had used his right or left arm.
He was, however, apt at times to be sleepy and inattentive to
the game. On one occasion he was in this state, and just
as the bowler started to bowl he noticed his sleepy cover-
point standing looking on the ground with his back to the
wickets. ' Hulloa, there, wake up ! ' shouted he. Quick as
lightning turned the coverpoint, and seeing something dark
dashing past him made a dart, and caught, not the ball as
he had thought, but a swallow. Talk of Royle or Briggs after
that !

Writing at the close of Mr. Stoddart's disastrous tour, it
must be said that if the Australians bring over a representative
team in 1899 ft wm * be looked forward to with the keenest
interest. The 1896 lot did very well, and it remains to be seen
whether in 1899, in matches limited to three days and on English
wickets, our visitors can pull off the rubber in the three test
matches. If they do they will receive the hearty congratula-
tions of every true English cricketer ; and at the present time
of writing it looks as if they had a great chance of so doing,
but if they are wise they will try and unearth another batsman
of the stamp of McDonnell or Lyons.

328 CRICKET.

CHAPTER XI.

THE UNIVERSITY CRICKET MATCH.

(By the Hon. R. H. Lyttelton.)

If to play drawn matches be a constant reproach against certain
elevens, neither University eleven can be blamed on this score.
Sixty-three matches have been begun between these old rivals,
and no fewer than sixty have been finished. Of the three
drawn matches, one, the first ever played, was confined to one
day only j the second was so long ago as 1844, and that was
confined to two days ; whilst the third, in 1888, was played in
such unfavourable weather that not even four days sufficed to
finish the match. All the rest have been fought out to the
end, and of the sixty completed matches Cambridge has won
thirty-two times and Oxford twenty-eight ; thus Cambridge
has a proud balance of four in its favour. All the matches ex-
cept five have been played at Lord's ; the remaining five were
played at Oxford, three on the Magdalen ground, one on Cowley
Marsh, and one on Bullingdon Green. The dark blues appear
to have been slightly favoured in this respect — for presumably
they knew their way about Oxford grounds better than their
rivals — and out of the five matches played at Oxford, Cambridge
only succeeded in winning one. The rules of qualification to
play in this match are now strict only in one particular, and that
is that nobody is allowed to play more than four times. Several
players have played five matches, and their names are : C. H.
Ridding, A. Ridding, C. D. Marsham, and R. D. Walker, all
Oxford men. The fact that some players play on a side for five
years may constitute a slight reason for causing the side they
assist to lose matches and not win them ; but during the last
three years that Mr. R. D. Walker helped his University he also

THE UNIVERSITY CRICKET MATCH. 329

helped the Gentlemen of England in their annual matches
against the Players both at Lord's and at the Oval ; and C. D.
Marsham was certainly not excelled by any gentleman bowler
for accuracy and general efficiency during all the years he played
for Oxford. Oxford were strong all the five years he played,
and won four out of the five matches ; the other match resulted
in a victory for Cambridge, mainly owing to the performances,
both in batting and bowling, of the famous Mr. J. Makinson.
Not since 1865, however, when Mr. R. D. Walker last played
for Oxford, has any cricketer played more than four times,
and since that time the rule has been well established, limiting
the period to four years. But there is considerable elasticity
allowed in permitting players to represent their University with-
in those four years. A residence for a week is apparently suffi-
cient, provided that the man's name is kept on the books of
some College or Hall. Mr. O'Brien, who represented Oxford
in 1884 and 1885, resided for one summer at New Inn Hall
and never went near his University again, but if he had chosen
and had been selected he might have played for the full term
of four years. Mr. Leslie, after residing at Oxford for one year,
went into business in London, but played three years for Oxford,
and till his last year performed yeoman's service. In 1856,
Makinson's year, Mr. T. W. Wills, with the concurrence and
sanction of Oxford, played for Cambridge without ever having
resided at Cambridge for one single day, though his name was
entered on the Ofcllege books. However, his part in the match
consisted of getting five runs in one innings and bowling nine
overs for one wicket. It appears very clear, then, that Oxford
have profited by having five matches played on their own ground
and making use, for five years, of Mr. C. D. Marsham, the best
bowler they ever possessed, to say nothing of Mr. R. D. Walker.
Of course the characteristics of University cricket have
-changed very much, following the example of cricket generally.
About the first match of all the late Bishop of St. Andrews
{Bishop Wordsworth), who played in it, very kindly wrote the
following note : —

33Q

CRICKET.

The First Inter-University Cricket Match. — 1827.

In the newly published Life of my younger brother Christopher,
the late Bishop of Lincoln, the following words are to be found,
quoted from his private journal : — ' Friday ' (no date — but early
in June, 1826). ■ Heard from Charles. He wishes that Oxford
and Cambridge should play a match at cricket ' (p. 46). And as
I have been asked to put upon paper what I can remember con-
cerning the first Inter-University Cricket Match, with a view to
its insertion in the present volume, I venture to take those words
for my text. Yes ; I was then in my Freshman's year at Christ
Church, and both my brother and I — he at Winchester, and I at
Harrow — had been in our respective school elevens. But more
than this, as captain of the Harrow Eleven I had enjoyed what
was then a novel experience in carrying on correspondence with
brother captains at other public schools — Eton, Winchester, Rugby
and even Charter House ; and I well remember how the last amused
us at Harrow, by the pompous and, as we presumed to think, bump-
tious style of his letter, proposing ' to determine the superiority at
cricket which has been so long undecided.' Having played against
Eton for four years, from the first match in 1822 to 1825, and in the
first match against Winchester in the last-named year, I had a large
acquaintance among cricketers who had gone off from those schools
and from Harrow to both Universities. My brother, as I have said,
was one of these, but though successful in the Wykehamist Eleven
at Lord's in 1825 (when he got 35 runs in his second innings, and
' caught' our friend Henry Manning — the future cardinal — of which
he was wont to boast in after years), he did not keep up his cricket
at Cambridge, whereas I continued to keep up mine at Oxford and
was in the University Eleven during the whole time of my under-
graduate course. Nothing came of my * wish ' to bring about a
match between the Universities in 1826. But in 1827 the proposal
was carried into effect. Though an Oxford man, my home was at
Cambridge, my father being Master of Trinity ; and this gave me
opportunities for communicating with men of that University, many
of whom remained up for the vacations, or for part of the vacations,
especially at Easter. I remember calling upon Barnard of King's,
who had been captain of an Eton Eleven against whom I had
played, and who was now one of the foremost Cambridge cricketers,
and he gave me reason to fear that no King's man would be able to

THE UNIVERSITY CRICKET MATCH. 331

play at the time proposed (early in June), though that time would
be within the Cambridge vacation and not within ours, because
their men, at King's, were kept up longer than at the other Colleges.
And this, I believe, proved actually the case ; and if so, some
allowance should be made for it. But the fact is, there were similar
difficulties on both sides, and I am not sure they were not as great
or greater upon ours. In those ante-railway days it was necessary
to get permission from the College authorities to go up to London
in term time, and the permission was not readily granted. To take
my own case : — My conscience still rather smites me when I re-
member that in order to gain my end, I had to present myself to
the Dean and tell him that I wished to be allowed to go to London
— not to play a game of cricket (that would not have been listened
to) — but to consult a dentist ; a piece of Jesuitry which was
understood, I believe, equally well on both sides ; at all events my
tutor, Longley— -afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury — was privy
to it.

Thus, though not without difficulties, the match came on, but
unhappily, the weather presenting a fresh difficulty, it did not fully
go off. We could only play a single innings ; with the result
which the score shows. The precise day in June on which it was
played has been disputed. One report gives the 4th ; another
states that 'the match did not take place on the 4th as intended,
but was deferred for a few days.' I can only say that I do not re-
member any postponement, as I think I should do had such been
the case ; and what is more, ' a few days ' later would have brought
it within our vacation, and so would have rendered my piece of
Jesuitism unnecessary. The players on the Cambridge side were
mostly Etonians, though there was, I think, no King's man among
them; and on the Oxford side, mostly Wykehamists. We scored
258 runs to our opponents' 92, but it cannot be said we were a strong
eleven. The bowling was divided between Bayley and me ; and the
state of the ground being in my favour, I was singularly successful
with my left-hand twist from the off, bringing down no less than
seven wickets in the one innings for only 25 runs. Jenner, famous as
a wicket-keeper, and well known afterwards as Sir Herbert Jenner
Fust, was the only batsman who made any stand against it. He had
learnt by painful experience how to deal with it. We had been
antagonists in the Eton and Harrow match of 1822 ; and I can well
remember even now, though it is 66 years ago, his look of in-
effable disgust and dismay when I had pitched a ball some four or

332 CRICKET.

-five inches wide to the off, and he had shouldered his bat meaning to
punish it as it rose by a smart cut to point, the tortuous creature
shot in obliquely and took his middle stump, when he had only got
two runs. Precisely the same happened again in his second
innings, only then he got no runs at all. Again in Eton v. Harrow
1823 I had bowled him at 7. And yet he was considered the best
bat on the Eton side next to Barnard. He now made 47 runs,
while no one else on the Cambridge side scored more than 8. He
was also successful as a bowler, taking five wickets, mine included
(against which he had a very strong claim), though I do not re-
member that he had much reputation in that line ; and certainly
upon the whole the Cambridge bowling must have been very in-
different to allow some of our men to run up the scores which stand
to their names.

Though often successful as a bowler (left-handed, under-hand),
batting (right-handed) was, if 1 may be bold to say so, my forte.
In 1828, the next year after this match, my average, upwards of
40, was higher than that of any other in the Oxford eleven. I
mention this with the less compunction because in the second
Inter-University match my name appears without a run in either
innings, and I wish to state how the failure is to be accounted for.
In that year, 1829, the first Inter-University boatrace took place
at Henley, and I was one of the eight. As boating and cricket
were then carried on in the same (summer) term, and the race and
the match were both to come off in the same week, I wished to
resign my place in the eleven. But this was not allowed. I had
therefore no alternative but to make my appearance and do my
best, though I had not played once before during the season, and
though I was suffering from the effects of my rowing in a way
which made it almost impossible for me to hold a bat. However,
though I got no runs, I was so far of use that I bowled two, and
caught two of our opponents ; and we won the match, not quite so
triumphantly as in 1827 (if a ' drawn' match can be so described),
but quite easily enough, as we had won the boatrace quite ' easily '
two days before, Wednesday, June 10th.

Of the players in the two elevens, who contended at Lord's
more than 60 years ago, five — if not six — I believe, are still living.
Who shall say how much the lengthening of their days beyond the
ordinary span of our existence here is to be attributed to ' Cricket's
manly toil ' ?

I have now done the best I could to comply with the request
made to me as an old cricketer, and if I have been garrulous, and

THE UNIVERSITY CRICKET MATCH. 333:

if I have been egotistical, I can fairly plead, that this is no more
than was to be expected when an ultra-octogenarian was applied
to for his reminiscences. Charles Wordsworth.

St. Andrews : May 16, 1888.

In the match of 1827, Oxford, strange to relate, got a
total of 258 runs, and exactly realised 200 runs in the third
match in 1836, while Cambridge got 287 runs in the fifth match
in 1839 ; but from 1839 to 1851, when Cambridge scored 266
runs, there was no innings played by either side which resulted
in 200 runs, and this notwithstanding the gigantic number of
extras that were sometimes given. Cambridge in 1841 won
by 8 runs, but scored in the two innings 56 by extras. In
1842 Cambridge again won by 162 runs, and scored 81 by
extras; while Oxford in. 1843 gained 65 by extras, losing the
match, however, by 54 runs. After 1851 scores of 200 runs
and over became more frequent, and still extras formed
a formidable item in the various totals. Cambridge gave
34 extras out of a total of 273 in 1852, or 1 run in every 8;
and Oxford in the same year gave Cambridge 40 extras out
of a total of 196, or an average of a little under 1 in every
5. We have made a careful comparison showing the different
totals and the percentage of extras, and have found the
following remarkable fact : in the first twenty-six matches the
total of runs scored came to 11,192, the number of extras
amounted to 1,767, making the percentage of extras to runs
amount to a little over 1 to 6. In the thirty-four succeeding
matches 21,364 runs were scored and 135 1 extras, reducing
the proportion to 1 to 15. In other words, for the first twenty-
six matches extras constituted 16 per cent, of the total amount
scored, while during the thirty succeeding years they only
amount to 6 per cent.

As might be expected, the weak point in University cricket
is the bowling, and the tendency of modern Inter-University
matches is an undue largeness of scores, though when the
improved condition of the wickets is taken into account, there
exists some ground for hoping that University bowling is
better than it was ten years ago. But when the fact is con-

334 CRICKET.

sidered that young amateurs in the prime of life play every
year on frequently perfect wickets, it is rather surprising that
the scoring is not even larger. That it is not so is chiefly
owing to nerve, that grand disturbing element in all cricket
calculations. It is far the most important contest of the
year for all the players concerned, and if you were to ask any
University cricketer which match or matches he felt most was
hoped of him he would certainly quote the Inter-University
matches he took part in. It is a match, therefore, famous for
wrecking the reputation of batsmen. Still one may be allowed
to hope that amateur bowling may improve, as amateur wicket-
keeping has done. Since 1880 Cambridge has had as real good
bowlers Messrs. Steel, Studd, Rock, Woods, Jackson, and for one
year Mr. Wells, while Oxford, in our judgment, has during the
same period turned out only three really good bowlers, Messrs.
Evans, Berkeley, and Cunliffe, and for one year Bardswell.

These ten good bowlers may be compared with the great-
est in former days — Messrs. C. D. Marsham, Traill, Maitland,
Fellowes, Kenney, and Butler of Oxford, and Lang, Salter,
Plowden, Pelham, and Powys of Cambridge, who were all fast
except Maitland, Pelham, and Plowden ; while only three of
the later lot of ten, Messrs. Woods, Evans, and Jackson, were
fast, the other seven being slow or medium.

No fewer than eighty-three men have played four matches ;
and it is curious to notice that out of these eighty-three there
are only one Oxford man and three Cambridge men who have
played in four winning elevens. The three Cambridge men are
Messrs. T. A. Anson, W. Mills, and W. de St. Croix ; and the
one Oxford man is Mr. S. C. Voules. Mr. Voules played in
the four winning elevens of 1863, '64, '65, and '66, Messrs.
T. A. Anson and W. de St. Croix played in the four winning
elevens of 1839, '40, '41, and '42, and Mr. W. Mills played
in 1840, '41, '42, and '43. Two unfortunate Cambridge men
had the bad luck to play four losing matches — namely, Messrs.
R. D. Balfour and G. H. Tuck, in the years 1 863, '64, '65, and '66.
So far no Oxford man has had this fate. Cambridge once won

THE UNIVERSITY CRICKET MATCH. 335

five consecutive matches, and on two occasions they have won
four, while Oxford has twice won four consecutive matches.
As may be expected, the runs scored by the more recent bats-
men altogether exceed the earlier players' efforts. Up to 1870,
when Mr. Yardley made the first hundred, Mr. Bullock's 78
for Oxford, obtained in 1858, was the highest individual score,
and the highest individual aggregates in any one match are 92
in 1849 °y Mr- R. T. King, 95 by Mr. Makinson in 1856, 90 by
Mr. Mitchell in 1862, 92 by the same gentleman in 1865, and
103 by Mr. C. E. Green in 1868. One of Mr. King's innings
was not completed. So Mr. Yardley in 1870 beat the record of
any two aggregates by his one innings, except Mr. Green's
innings in 1868. Since 1870 the individual scores of 100 have
come fast and furious, and altogether twenty hundreds have
been played, nine by Cambridge to eleven by Oxford. Mr.
Yardley is still in the proud position of being the only bats-
man who has twice got into three figures, and nobody who saw
either of his great performances will ever forget it. Unless,
however, there is a change for the better in bowling or an
alteration in the laws, it is certain that hundreds will come
with comparative frequency, and we cannot help pining for a
return to the old state of things when 200 was reckoned a very
large total. The highest aggregate in any one match is Mr.
Jardine's 179 in 1892, and the highest individual score is
Mr. Key's 143 in 1886. No performances are, however, en-
titled to more credit than Mr. Makinson's aggregate of 95 in
1856, and Mr. Mitchell's 90 in 1862, and the fewer long scores
made in former days made a far larger proportion of the total
runs obtained by the whole side. Mr. Makinson's runs in 1855
were obtained against perhaps the best bowling eleven that
Oxford ever possessed, containing Messrs. C. D. Marsham, A.
Payne, W. Fellowes, and W. Fiennes, while Mr. Mitchell's score
in 1862 was not much less than half of the total score of his
side. Against him are to be found the names of Plowden,
Lang, Salter, and Lyttelton, and never in any match, except in
the previous year when they had the same quartet, has Cam-

336 CRICKET.

bridge been so strong in bowling as they were in 1862. The
highest average has been secured by Mr. Key of Oxford, and
this amounts to no less than 49. Close behind him comes Mr.
Wright of Cambridge, with an average of 48*4 ; then Mr.
Mitchell with 42-4, and Mr. Yardley with 39*5. Mr. Mitchell's
average is remarkable, as his highest score was 57, though he
was once not out. Mr. Wright was twice not out, Mr. Key and
Mr. Mitchell once each ; Mr. Yardley, however, was always got
out in the end. In estimating these averages we are only
reckoning the players who represented their University for four
years.

The earlier bowlers, as far as wickets are a guide, carry all
before them. Not until the twentieth match, played in 1854 —
Mr. C. D. Marsham's first year— was any analysis kept. To-
judge, however, by the standard of wickets, Mr. G. E. Yonge
of Oxford, who in four years obtained thirty-nine wickets, Mr.
E. W. Blore and Mr. Sayres, both of Cambridge, who in the
same time got thirty-two, are entitled to the highest place.

Naturally enough, as Mr. Marsham played five years and
was also the best bowler on the whole that Oxford ever turned
out, most wickets fell to his share. He got forty wickets at
a cost of 361 runs— that is to say, of only 9 runs a wicket — a
great performance under any circumstances. Two wides only
were scored against Mr. Marsham, and there is no record of a
4 no ball.' He bowled a strictly orthodox round-arm of fast
medium pace, and generally round the wicket.

Mr. E. M. Kenney was a very fast and dangerous left-hand
bowler, most terrifying to a nervous batsman, for he delivered
that unpleasant sort of ball which pursues the batsman, and
is apt, to adopt a pugilistic metaphor, to get in heavily on
the ribs. During the three years that Mr. Makinson played for
Cambridge he took twenty-one wickets at a cost of 194 runs,
or just 9 runs a wicket ; and when it is remembered that he
was also distinctly the best bat in the two elevens each of the
three years he played, it may be safely assumed that, as an all-
round man, he has never had a superior, with the exception of

THE UNIVERSITY CRICKET MATCH. 337

Mr. A. G. Steel. At the same time it must be admitted that
in bowling he was quite as successful against Oxford as his
merits justified.

The famous Cambridge fast bowler, Mr. R. Lang, played
three years, and got fifteen wickets at a cost of only 84 runs, or
a fraction over 5 runs per wicket— an analysis that has never
been surpassed, and deserves to be quoted as an example
for young players to emulate. In i860 he bowled in the two
innings twenty-one overs for 19 runs and six wickets. In 1861
he lost his pace owing to an injured arm and was unsuccess-
ful, bowling twenty-six overs for 30 runs and no wicket. In
1862, in the two innings, he bowled twenty-nine overs for
35 runs and nine wickets ; and, to take the first innings alone,
we find he bowled only thirty-four balls for 4 runs and five
wickets all clean bowled. Considering his pace he was very
straight, and only bowled 6 wides in all three matches. H. W.
Salter of Cambridge played two years, and obtained fourteen
wickets for 74 runs, or a fraction over 5 runs a wicket, another
extraordinary performance. Mr. H. M Plowden, who played
four years from i860, lowered nineteen wickets for 153 runs,,
or an average of 8 runs a wicket. In no previous or subsequent
years has either University been so amply provided with bowling
strength as was Cambridge during these three years, as, besides
Salter, Lang, and Plowden, in i860 she had Messrs. E. B.
Fawcett and D. R. Onslow, and in 1861 and '62 the Hon.
C. G. Lyttelton, who bowled for the Gentlemen.

The greatest bowling feat in the whole history of University
cricket belongs to Mr. S. E. Butler, of Eton and Oxford re-
nown, and took place in 1871. Cambridge had some good
bats in her eleven— Messrs. Money, Tobin, Fryer, Scott,
Yardley and Thornton, a rough and ready hitter in the person
of Mr. Cobden, and a fair batsman in Mr. Stedman. But
Mr. Butler found an old-fashioned Lord's wicket, and he
bowled a terrific pace and got on a spot which shot and made
his balls break considerably down the hill. He got the whole
ten wickets in one innings, and in the match he lowered fifteen

z

338 CRICKET.

wickets for 95 runs. His bowling was unplayable on the first
day ; eight of the ten wickets in the first innings were clean
bowled, and twelve out of the whole fifteen.

Mr. Woods, who played for Cambridge for the four years
ending 1891, bowled 184 overs for 318 runs and thirty-six
wickets, an average of five wickets per innings at 8 runs per
wicket, a great record for these days — a feat great enough to
entitle him to an honorary degree in the opinion of the Master
of Peterhouse.

Mr. Berkeley had during his four years an uphill task, as he
was in three losing elevens, and that means a heavy handicap,
as every cricketer knows. But considering that he was the
only real bowler on his side during all the four years he played,
his record of 196 overs for 341 runs and twenty-seven wickets,
and 12 runs per wicket, is very good, and such a bowler
deserved a better fate than to play in three defeats out of four
matches.

It will interest and comfort young cricketers to remind
them how many great batsmen have failed in these matches.
We feel sure that these latter will excuse us for pointing out
their shortcomings ; for they will know that we do so only to
sustain their weaker brethren and illustrate the glorious uncer-
tainty of the game. The late Mr. John Walker, who for several
years represented the Gentlemen, got 19 runs in six innings, or
a proud average of 3. His younger brother, Mr. R. D. Walker,
the silver-haired veteran of five Inter-University contests, gal-
lantly led off with an innings of 42 ; but the result of his five
years' batting against Cambridge was 84 runs in ten innings, his
first innings in fact amounting to one-half of the total runs he
scored in five years. Yet he played for the Gentlemen in 1863,
1864, and 1865, and these were the last three years he played
for Oxford. M. A. W. Ridley played for four years, and his
runs for seven innings came to a total of 61, or an average of
10 runs per innings, as once he carried his bat. The present
Lord Cobham, who played for the Gentlemen of England his
first year at Cambridge, batted exactly on a par with Mr. Ridley,

THE UNIVERSITY CRICKET MATCH. 339

as he also made 61 runs in six innings, and was once not
out. Cambridge men of his date will tell you that on Fenner's
nobody was ever more dangerous, and his scores for those
days were enormous. Mr. C. G. Lane— of whom the poet
wrote. :

You may join with me in wishing that the Oval once again
May resound with hearty plaudits to the praise of Mr. Lane-
played seven innings for a total of 35 runs. Take courage,
then, young cricketer, and know that if you fail, you fail in
good company.

Most extraordinary have been the vicissitudes of fortune in
several of these matches. Oxford in 1871 had a fine eleven,
which easily defeated Cambridge by eight wickets ; and in
1872 they played no fewer than eight of their old eleven.
Cambridge played seven, and the four new men were the
famous pair of young Etonians, Messrs. Longman and Tabor,
the Harrovian, Mr. Baily, and the Wykehamist, Mr. Raynor.
The odds on Oxford at the start were about 2 to 1. Yet
Cambridge on winning the toss put together the largest total
yet realised by either side in any one innings, namely 388 runs.
The two Etonian freshmen were on the whole entitled to
the chief honours on this occasion, as for the first time they
made over 100 runs before the fall of a wicket. Mr. Long-
man was badly run out by Mr. Yardley after batting for about
two and a half hours, or else another 100 runs might have been
put on. When the Oxford eleven went in to bat, not one of
them could look at Mr. Powys, the fastest bowler of the day,
except Messrs. Ottaway and Tylecote, who both played remark-
ably well in the second innings. Mr. Powys secured thirteen
wickets at a cost of 75 runs, or a trifle under 6 runs a wicket.

Everybody has heard of the 2 -run success of Cambridge in
1870, and the 6-run victory of Oxford in 1875. The difference
between the two matches consisted in the fact that in 1870 not
till the last wicket was actually bowled down did it appear
possible for Oxford to lose ; in 1875 the issue was quite doubt-

340 CRICKET

ful till Mr. A. F. Smith made that fatal stroke to a plain lob.
Cambridge in 1870 were on the whole the favourites; not
that there was much to choose between the two elevens, but
because they had won the three previous years. In batting,
Cambridge had Messrs. Dale, Money, and Yardley : and
Oxford, Messrs. Ottaway, Pauncefote, and Tylecote — quite a
case of six of one and half a dozen of the other, though Yardley
was far the most dangerous man. In bowling Oxford were
handicapped by Mr. Butler's strained arm, which prevented him
from bowling more than a few overs ; but they possessed Messrs.
Belcher and Francis, two good fast bowlers. Cambridge had
Cobden for a fast bowler, Harrison Ward for a medium pace,
and Bourne for slow round. So while Mr. Francis was some
way the best fast bowler of the two elevens, Oxford were de-^
ficient in variety, while Cambridge possessed all paces and
also Mr. Money's lobs. Cambridge won the toss and put to-
gether 147 runs, the good bats all failing, and only Mr. Scott
doing credit to himself by an innings of 45. Oxford scored
more equally, though neither Ottaway nor Pauncefote contribu-
ted more than modest double figures ; the total, nevertheless,
came to 175, or a majority of 28. The next hour's play appa-
rently saw Cambridge utterly routed. Mr. Dale stopped all
that time, but nobody stopped with him. The total at the fall of
the fifth wicket was 40, or only 12 on. 'We are going to win
a match at last ! ' said one of the Oxonians to another who had
been educated at Rugby. ■ Wait a bit,' said the Rugbeian, who
turned his head and saw Yardley advancing to the wicket ; 'I
have seen this man get 100 before now.' The companion of
the last speaker possibly had not seen Yardley perform this
feat, but he had not long to wait. There are several batsmen
whose play baffles criticism, and Yardley was one of them.
He certainly played some balls in a manner that purists found
fault with, but good judges of the game could see that there
was genius in his method ; and genius, as we all know, rises
above canons and criticism. If Mr. Yardley had not touched
a bat for six months, still he might walk to the wickets and

THE UNIVERSITY CRICKET MATCH. 341

play a magnificent innings ; for genius requires little or no
practice. Those familiar with his play knew that they might
look out for squalls if he was allowed to get set. Mr.
Dale was at the other end, playing every ball with a
perfectly straight bat and in the most correct style. In the
minds of both of them it was a crisis ; for each knew that
unless they put on a lot of runs the match was lost, as
five of their side were out. One mistake and Cambridge
would have to retire beaten. But no mistake was made.
Yardley got set ; the bowling was fast and so was the ground,
and the former was hit into a complete knot. There seemed
to be no prospect of getting either of them out, when Mr.
Yardley sent a ball hard back to the bowler, who made a fine
catch off a fine hit, and the Cambridge man retired with the first
Inter-University 100. Mr. Dale made a leg hit, and was splen-
didly caught by Mr. Ottaway with one hand over the ropes.

In a short time the innings was over, and Oxford had to
face a total of 179 to win the match. In these days on a hard
wicket this is regarded as a comparatively easy feat ; but runs
were not so easy to accumulate eighteen years ago, and the
betting was now even, Cambridge for choice. One Oxford
wicket was soon got, and then a long stand was made by
Messrs. Fortescue and Ottaway, both of whom played excellent
cricket. The total was brought up to 72 for only one wicket,
the betting veered round to 2 to 1 on Oxford, and Mr. Ward
was put on to bowl. This change was the turning point
of the game. Mr. Fortescue was soon bowled, so was Mr.
Pauncefote, and with the total at 86 the betting was again
evens, Oxford for choice. Mr. Ward had found his spot and
was bowling with deadly precision when Mr. Tylecote came
in. Both Ottaway and Tylecote now batted cautiously and
well, and Mr. Ward went off for a time. Mr. Tylecote was
a very good bat, but compared to Ottaway only mortal ; how
on earth Ottaway was to be got out was a problem that seemed
well-nigh insoluble. The total went up to 153, or only 26 runs
to win and seven wickets to go down ; the betting 6 to 1 on

342 CRICKET.

Oxford. A yell was heard, and Mr. Tylecote was bowled by
Mr. Ward, and Mr. Townshend came in.

Mr. Ward, from the pavilion end, was at this stage bowling
to Ottaway, who made a characteristic hit, low and not hard, to
short-leg. Mr. Fryer was not a good field, and Cambridge
generally were fielding badly, but he rose to the occasion and
made a good catch close to the ground, so close that Ottaway
appealed, but in vain, and the score stood at 160 for 5 wickets
down — 19 runs wanted to win. Mr. Hill now came in, and
began to play a free, confident game at once. A bye was run
and a sharp run was made by Townshend by a hit to third
man, but Townshend was then caught off Ward, and Francis
came in, and after making a single was l.b.w. to the same
bowler. During Hill's partnership with Townshend and
Francis he knocked up 1 1 runs by good bustling play, and he
now stood at the nursery end to receive the last ball of an over
from Ward, 5 runs being wanted to win, and Butler in the other
end. Hill hit the ball fairly hard to sharp short-leg, and
Bourne measured his length on the ground, stopped the ball,
and converted the hit from a fourer to a single. Hill got to the
other end, an over was called and the ball tossed to Cobden, who
was faced by Hill, 4 runs being wanted to win and 3 to tie.

We say with confidence that never can one over bowled by
any bowler at any future time surpass the over that Cobden was
about to deliver then, and it deserves a minute description.
Cobden took a long run and bowled very fast, and was for his
pace a straight bowler. But he bowled with little or no break,
had not got a puzzling delivery, and though effective against
inferior bats, would never have succeeded in bowling out a
man like Mr. Ottaway if he had sent a thousand balls to him.
However, on the present occasion Ottaway was out, those he
had to bowl to were not first-rate batsmen, and Cobden could
bowl a good yorker.

You might almost have heard a pin drop as Cobden
began his run and the ball whizzed from his hand. Mr.
Hill played the ball slowly to cover-point, and rather a

THE UNIVERSITY CRICKET MATCH. 343

sharp run was made. As the match stood, Oxford wanted
2 to tie and 3 to win, and three wickets to go down : Mr.
Butler to receive the ball. The" second ball that Cobden
bowled was very similar to the first, straight and well up
on the off stump. Mr. Butler did what anybody else except
Louis Hall or Shrewsbury would have done, namely, let drive
vigorously. Unfortunately he did not keep the ball down, and
it went straight and hard a catch to Mr. Bourne, to whom
everlasting credit is due, for he held it, and away went Mr.
Butler— amidst Cambridge shouts this time. The position
was getting serious, for neither Mr. Stewart nor Mr. Belcher
was renowned as a batsman. Rather pale, but with a jaunty
air that cricketers are well aware frequently conceals a sickly
feeling of nervousness, Mr. Belcher walked to the wicket and
took his guard. He felt that if only he could stop one ball
and be bowled out the next, still Mr. Hill would get another
chance of a knock and the match would probably be won.
Cobden had bowled two balls, and two more wickets had to be
got ; if therefore a wicket was got each ball the match would
be won by Cambridge, and Mr. Hill would have no further
opportunity of distinguishing himself. In a dead silence
Cobden again took the ball and bowled a fast ball well up on
the batsman's legs. A vision of the winning hit flashed across
Mr. Belcher's brain, and he raised his bat preparatory to per-
forming great things, hit at the ball and missed it, and he was
bowled off his legs. There was still one more ball wanted to
complete the over, and Mr. Belcher, a sad man, walked away
amid an uproarious storm of cheers.

Matters were becoming distinctly grave, and very irritating
must it have been to Mr. Hill, who was like a billiard-player
watching his rival in the middle of a big break ; he could say a
good deal and think a lot, but he could do nothing. Mr. Stewart,
spes ultima of Oxford, with feelings that are utterly impossible
to describe, padded and gloved, nervously took off his coat
in the pavilion. If ever a man deserved pity, Mr. Stewart de-
served it on that occasion. He did not profess to be a good

344 CRICKsET.

bat, and his friends did not claim so much for him ; he was an
excellent wicket-keeper, but he had to go in at a crisis that the
best bat in England would not like to face. Mr. Pauncefote,
the Oxford captain, was seen addressing a few words of earnest
exhortation to him, and with a rather sick feeling Mr. Stewart
went to the wicket. Mr. Hill looked at him cheerfully, but
very earnestly did Mr. Stewart wish the next ball well over.
He took his guard and held his hands low on the bat handle,
which was fixed fast as a tree on the block-hole ; for Mr.
Pauncefote had earnestly entreated Mr. Stewart to put the bat
straight in the block-hole and keep it there without moving it.
This was not by any means bad advice, for the bat covers a
great deal of the wicket, and though it is a piece of coun-
sel not likely to be offered to W. G. Grace or Stoddart, it
might not have been inexpedient to offer it to Mr. Stewart.
Here, then, was the situation — Mr. Stewart standing man-
fully up to the wicket, Mr. Cobden beginning his run, and
a perfectly dead silence in the crowd. Whiz went the ball ;
but alas ! — as many other people, cricketers and politicians
alike, have done — the good advice is neglected, and Stewart,
instead of following his captain's exhortation to keep his
bat still and upright in the block-hole, just lifted it : fly
went the bails, and Cambridge had won the match by two
runs ! The situation was bewildering. Nobody could quite

realise what had happened for a second or so, but then

Up went Mr. Absalom's hat, down the pavilion steps with
miraculous rapidity flew the Rev. A. R. Ward, and smash
went Mr. Charles Marsham's umbrella against the pavilion
brickwork. l

1 The difficulty of getting accurate facts about this unique over has been
immense. The author has before him the written statement of Mr. Hill, a
copy of the Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News containing a letter 01
Mr. Yardley, who was keeping wicket and was therefore in a position to
judge, and a letter from Mr. Cobden and Mr. Belcher. In the first edition of
this book Mr. Stewart is said to have been bowled off his legs ; this is
inaccurate, and the author apologizes for the blunder. Mr. Cobden com-
plains of the account generally, and says that all three balls were of a good
length, and that he never bowled better balls in all his life. The author in the

THE UNIVERSITY CRICKET MATCH. 345

One word more about this never-to-be-forgotten match.
The unique performance of Cobden has unduly cast in the
shade Mr. Ward's performance in the second innings. It was
a good wicket, and Oxford had certainly on the whole a good

above has written what he believes to be accurate, relying chiefly on the
written evidence of Messrs. Hill, Yardley, and Belcher, and in a less degree
from what he has heard from some spectators. It was not Stewart that was
bowled off his legs, but Belcher ; and in order that the public may form their
own judgment, the written statements of Messrs. Hill, Yardley, and Belcher
are here inserted. Mr. Hill writes : — ' Belcher was bowled with a yorker
(half- volley ?) and Stewart with a half-volley, but whether off his leg or not I
do not remember.' Mr. Hill also writes that on meeting Cobden some years
later, Cobden repeated that they were three of the best balls he ever bowled,
to which Mr. Hill replied that they were all half-volleys, and that he believed
that if he had had any one of them he could have won the match with a
fourer. Now Mr. Yardley, in allusion to the author's statement that the ball
that Butler was caught off was straight and well up on the off stump, writes :
1 As a matter of fact the ball in question was a very long hop, extremely wide
on the off, so much so that I have no hesitation in stating that if Mr. Butler
had made no attempt to strike at it the umpire would have called a wide.
The batsman, however, was possessed of an exceptionally long reach, and just
managed to strike the ball with the extreme end of his bat to cover-point,
where it was beautifully caught by Mr. Bourne.'

Now as to Belcher's ball, Mr. Yardley says : ' The ball in question was the
most delicious half-volley on the legs, which Mr. Belcher did his utmost to hit
out of Lord's ground. Fortunately for Cambridge his deeds were not so good
as his intentions, for he hit too hard at the ball, which he missed, and which,
striking him on the left leg, cannoned on to his right leg, and from thence on
to his wicket.'

On the point of Mr. Stewart's ball Mr. Yardley writes : ' This fourth
and last ball was the only, straight one of that celebrated over. It was
an exceedingly long hop, scarcely pitching half-way, and coming along
surprisingly slow off the pitch. Had it not been for that circumstance Mr.
Stewart would probably have not lost his wicket as he did, for it was only at
the very last moment that he neglected his captain's instructions and removed
his bat from the block-hole, thereby allowing the ball to strike his off stump
about three-quarters of the way up.' Mr Yardley also writes that the scene
appears to him as vivid after a lapse of twenty years as it did then.

Mr. Belcher writes : ' I am quite certain that I was bowled off my legs ;
the ball to the best of my recollection hit me just below the knee of the right
leg and went into the wicket. At any rate I am quite clear as to my leg being
hit, and my impression is that it was a very good-length ball, and not a half-
volley. I don't think I hit at it all. Of course at such a distance of time my
recollections are somewhat vague, but the one point I am quite sure of- is that
I was bowled off my leg.'

With these extracts before them, the matter is no* left to posterity.

346 CRICKET.

batting eleven. Yet Mr. Ward bowled thirty-two overs for
29 runs and got six wickets, and of those six wickets five
were certainly the best batsmen on the side. He clean
bowled Messrs. Fortescue, Pauncefote, and Tylecote, and
got out in other ways Messrs. Ottaway, Townshend, and
Francis. It is hardly too much to say that in this innings
Mr. Ward got the six best wickets and Mr. Cobden the four
worst. In the whole match Mr. Ward got nine wickets for 62
runs, and this again, let it be said, on an excellent ground.
Comparisons are odious, however, and the four Cambridge
men, Yardley, Dale, Ward, and Cobden, have no reason to be
jealous of each other, and every reason to be satisfied with
themselves.

Oxford have got a victory to set off against this Cambridge
triumph in 1870. It took place five years later, and though
Mr. Ridley's bowling at the finish was not condensed into one
sensational over like Cobden's, still the greatest credit is due
to him for putting himself on at the right moment, fully realis-
ing an undoubted truth, that lobs are most terrifying to very
nervous players at a crisis.

Comparing the two elevens, on paper it would appear that
Oxford were the better bowling eleven, and were considerably
superior in fielding. In 1870 Cambridge deserved to have
lost the match on account of their bad fielding ; in 1875 tne y
succeeded in doing so. Messrs. Webbe and Lang started by
making 86 for the first wicket, and Mr. Webbe was twice badly
missed at short-slip. Mr. Lang ought to have been easily
stumped. In Oxford's second innings four Oxford wickets,
including Ridley and Webbe, were down for 34. Mr. Briggs
came in and was badly missed at short-slip directly, and disaster
was averted for some time ; and Mr. Game, who scored 22,
was missed shortly after he went to the wicket. The Oxford
fielding was very fine all through, though one member missed
two easy catches. The bowling was more evenly divided ;
Oxford had more bowlers than Cambridge, though Messrs.
Sharpe and Patterson were as good as, or better than, Messrs.

THE UNIVERSITY CRICKET MATCH. 347

Lang and Buckland. But besides these two Oxford had
Mr. Royle and Mr. Ridley and Mr. Kelcey, while the two
Cambridge bowlers had to do most of the work.

In batting the position was somewhat similar. Ridley and
Webbe were superior to Longman and the second best Cantab,
but on the other hand Cambridge were stronger all through.
On the whole the sides were very even.

Oxford made a good start, thanks to the politeness of the
Cambridge field, though both Webbe and Lang played well,
and fair scores were made by Ridley, Pulman and Buckland,
but at no time during the match did Mr. Ridley appear at
home to Mr. Patterson's bowling. The total reached 200, and
there were 20 extras, of which 15 were byes ; and the Cam-
bridge wicket -keeping was not up to the mark. Cambridge
batted on the whole disappointingly in the first innings ; the
captain, Mr. G. H. Longman, played a very good innings of
40, but the other scores were below what was expected, and
again did extras prove of great value, for Cambridge realised 1 7
thereby. But, on the whole, the Oxford fielding was very fine,
and both Messrs. Longman and Blacker, who played good
steady cricket, found great difficulty in getting the ball away.

At the close of the Cambridge innings Oxford had a valuable
balance of 37 in their favour, and most thoroughly did they
deserve this advantage on account of their very superior fielding.
It is always consoling to an eleven who are beginning their
second innings to feel that every hit adds to the total that
the other side must get before they can win, and that their
energy is not to be applied towards wiping off a deficit. Oxford
had this balance of 37 in their favour, and very sorely was it
needed, for their wickets fell with depressing rapidity. Both
Sharpe and Patterson bowled admirably ; the former had both
Lang and Campbell with the score at 5 only. Ridley again fell
to Patterson, with the total at 16, and at 34 Webbe was out to
a good running catch from short-slip to short-leg.

The match now looked well for Cambridge, as Ridley and
Webbe were far superior to their comrades. Mr. Webbe had

348 CRICKET.

scored most consistently all through the year ; this second
innings of 21 contained no mistake, and nobody ever could
have looked more firmly set for a large score. Four wickets
for 34 was a very bad start, but again did the Cambridge
eleven show great politeness to their opponents ; for directly
Mr. Briggs came in he was badly missed at short-slip off
Mr. Sharpe, and Messrs. Briggs and Pulman raised the score
to 64, when the former was clean bowled by a lob. Mr.
Pulman stayed till the total reached 74, when he was stumped
off Mr. Sharpe for an admirable innings of 30. He had played
very well in his first innings, but his second stopped an un-
deniable rot, was quite chanceless, and no innings under the
circumstances could have been more useful. Mr. Game then
came in, and again did Cambridge rise to the occasion and
miss him off an easy chance when he had made 3 only ; and he
showed his gratitude by hitting up 22 before he was well caught,
the total being 109. Mr. Buckland was clean bowled by
Mr. Patterson first ball, and nine runs later Mr. Royle was
stumped, having played a most useful innings of 21. Both
Messrs. Tylecote and Kelcey smacked up small double figures,
and the total of the innings was 137 — a very much better score
than at one time seemed probable. If the chances had been
taken the total might not have reached 100, and if a list could
be made of the matches lost by bad catching, angels would
weep.

Oxford's second innings was not over till a quarter to seven,
but Mr. Ridley rightly insisted on the letter of the law being
kept, and five minutes before the drawing of the stumps
Oxford were in the field and two nervous Cambridge batsmen
in a fading light were walking slowly to the wickets. Only one
over was bowled, and a leg-hit for four was the only result.

We have said that the Oxford captain rightly insisted on
Cambridge going in, and we contend that Mr. Ridley acted
wisely and not unfairly in so doing. He had the law on his
side, and if the law is not to be enforced in the University
match, when is it ever likely to be ? Mr. Ridley also probably

mmmiiM%^0 ti ' ls w8m

THE INTERVAL

THE UNIVERSITY CRICKET MATCH. 349

anticipated the fact that the Cambridge captain would be un-
willing to run the chance of sacrificing one of his good wickets,
and that the order of going in would be altered. This may be
a considerable disadvantage to the side ; it is not certain that
it was in the present case ; but Mr. Macan, who went in fifth
wicket down in the first innings, had to go in considerably
later in the second innings, and thus a good batsman was
wasted.

Messrs. Sharpe and Hamilton went in first ; at the begin-
ning of the third day Cambridge wanted 171 runs to win, and
had all their wickets standing. Both Sharpe and Hamilton
played well at the start, and brought the score up to 21, when
the latter put his leg in front and departed. Mr. Lucas came
in, but was clean bowled for 5 runs : two wickets for 26.
Mr. Longman, the captain, came in, and played steadily and
well, and the bowling for the first time in the innings seemed
to be collared ; Lang went off, Ridley bowled three overs for
1 1 runs, and Mr. Royle took the ball. Mr. Royle's bowling
proved the turning point of the game. He was not by any
means an accurate bowler, but at times his balls broke fast
and were most difficult to play. He bowled three maidens,
and with the fifteenth ball clean bowled Mr. Sharpe, who had
played an excellent innings of 29. He had stepped into the
breach overnight and gone in when twilight was coming on ;
having passed through that ordeal safely, he completed a most
useful innings next day. Messrs. Longman and Sharpe had
brought the score from 26 to 65, but Royle made Blacker
play a ball on at 67, and clean bowled Longman at 76 for
a second very good innings. The ball that bowled Mr. Long-
man was a dead shooter of the old sort, which came back also
considerably. Messrs. Greenfield and Lyttelton were now in
together, and the score again steadily rose, though Mr.
Lyttelton was manifestly uneasy with Royle's bowling. How-
ever, the total came to 97 when Lyttelton was badly missed,
and a snick put 10b on the board ; but at 10 1 Greenfield
made a bad hit and was caught at mid-off, and in walked Mr.

350 CRICKET

Sims. Sims this year was a powerful and dangerous bat — in
fact, he was the most determined hitter in the two elevens, and
on the present occasion he made a great bid for victory. He
possessed a bulldog courage in whatever he undertook, and his
contemporaries at Cambridge could scarcely believe that so
strong a man could have caught a chill and died so quickly as
he did some few years later while in full work as an energetic
clergyman in the North of England. Shortly after Sims had
gone in, Lyttelton was a second time missed, though fortu-
nately for Oxford the mistake mattered little, for from a fine leg-
hit he was grandly caught by Webbe close to the ropes while
running at full speed. It was not a high hit, but it would have
hit a spectator on the nose if the fieldsman had not caught it.
There was no finer bit of fielding in the match than this, and
it was hard to be got out in such a way, though the batsman
was lucky to have made 20 runs. The score was 114 when
Lyttelton was out, or 60 to win and 3 wickets to go down, and
the betting 7 to 4 on Oxford. Messrs. Sims and Patterson
played well, and brought the score to 128, or 46 to win, when
down came the rain and play was stopped for an hour and a
half. It rained hard for a time, and Oxford had to turn out to
bowl with a wet ball and field on slippery ground. Mr. Patter-
son played well, and Sims shut his teeth and went to work
with savage determination. The runs came fast ; in 20 minutes
the score had been raised from 128 to 161, when Ridley
went on to bowl and with his first ball clean bowled Patterson.
Macan then came in and made a single (13 to win), and
a mighty whack did one of Ridley's balls then get from
Sims, who sent the ball over the bowler's head to the ropes
like a cannon shot, and Lang took the ball from Royle, 9
runs being wanted to win the match for Cambridge. A leg-
bye was got from Lang's first ball and a no ball followed,
making 7 to win. It appeared good odds on Cambridge, for
Sims did not look like getting out, and his hits had a way of
going to the boundary. Be it remembered that the ball was
wet and heavy, and forgetfulness of this fact on the part of

THE UNIVERSITY CRICKET MATCH. 35 I

Sims at this stage cost him his wicket and Cambridge the
match. Mr. Game was fielding deep square-leg close to the
ropes by the tennis court, and Pulman was on the on side close
to the left-hand corner of the enclosure that stands on the
left facing the pavilion. There was a considerable space
between these two fields, and off the full pitch on his legs
which Sims now received from Lang the ball might have
been swept safely under the ropes anywhere between the two
men. But Sims no doubt felt as strong and as lusty as an
eagle, and forgetting that the ball was wet and heavy, got
under it and tried to lift it over the ropes. The sodden ball
refused to go so far, and Pulman, running some distance, made
what with the ball dry and of a normal weight would have
been an ordinary country catch. With the ball wet and heavy,
however, his success was the more commendable, and back
to the pavilion, crestfallen and sad, went Sims. Returning
for a moment to the 2 -run match, the two men for whom
sympathy may be felt because the game did not result in
favour of their side were Ottaway in 1870 and Sims in 1875.
Ottaway got out when his side wanted 18 runs to win and
had four wickets to go down, and Sims when only 7 runs
were wanted and there were two wickets to fall. Both are
now dead, but as long as any matches in England are remem-
bered these two innings will be borne in the memory of those
who witnessed them.

Mr. Smith had to face a crisis he had long been dreading,
and he walked apprehensively to the wicket. Mr. Macan,
who was in, had only received two or three balls, so both had
to feel their way cautiously. It is, perhaps, true to say that
at the extreme moments of nervousness climatic surroundings
have no effect on the constitution ; be this as it may, the air
was chilly, the ground was wet, and the sun invisible. Probably
Mr. Smith felt as cold as if he had been in a damp cellar. A
well-known Harrovian told the writer at this stage that he had
seen Mr. Smith get over 25 runs against the famous George
Freeman's bowling. What did that matter if he was unable

352 CRICKET.

to get six runs against Ridley's lobs ? He somehow or other
stopped two balls in a doubtful sort of style, and played slowly
forward to the third, thinking that after the manner of lobs it
would twist. The wet ground prevented this ; it went on and
hit the middle stump, and Oxford won the match by six runs.

We regard this match as a model of what a cricket match
should be ; the runs were not too numerous, the interest was
kept up to the very end. It would have been hard lines per-
haps for Oxford to have lost the match, for the rain that fell
in Cambridge's last innings was unlucky for the dark blue ;
it is impossible to bowl or field well with a wet ball, and it hap-
pened that Sims was just the man to take advantage of this
state of things. The bowling was managed with great skill by
Mr. Ridley, and, as we have said before, he realised an un-
doubted truth, that lobs are often fatal to a batsman who is
paralysed by nervousness.

It is not easy to say with any certainty that the bowling at
the Universities is better or worse than it, was. We are inclined
to think that, writing in 1898, there are signs that it is better
than it was between the years 1872 and 1888, but not equal to
the days of C. D. Marsham, R. Lang, Plowden, and Kenney,
but in those days it was quite possible for a side to have weak
bowling, and yet get out their opponents with the help of the
more difficult wickets. This was the case in 1864. Oxford
were led by the famous Mr. Mitchell, and were a strong batting
eleven. Cambridge were fairly strong in batting, but they
deliberately chose to meet Oxford with only two bowlers,
Messrs. Curteis and Pelham. So well did these two gentlemen
perform that almost to the very end the result was doubtful.
Messrs. Fowler and Booth each succeeded in getting a wicket
in the first innings, and Mr. Booth one in the second innings,
but between them they only bowled twenty-two overs in the
whole match, while Mr. Curteis bowled seventy-five overs for
eight wickets, and Mr. Pelham fifty-six overs for five wickets.
This was a fine match, won at the finish by a grand innings of
Mr. Mitchell's. No man ever went in at a more critical time

THE UNIVERSITY CRICKET MATCH. 353

than he did this second innings, neither did anybody ever bat
with better nerve. Out of 125 required to win the match, no
fewer than 55 (not out) fell to his share, and Oxford won by
four wickets. The Cambridge eleven of 1878 had a most extra-
ordinary run of success, never, as far as we know, equalled by
any University eleven. They won no fewer than eight matches,
and not a defeat or a draw is found against them. They beat
Oxford by 238 runs, and the Australians in one innings. There
is no doubt that during that year, if a representative English
eleven had been chosen to play Australia or any other eleven,
no fewer than four out of the Cambridge eleven would have
been found in the English team. They were not all good, but
the superlative excellence of those four made the eleven one of
the best that has yet played in these matches ; and that of 1879
was almost as good.

It may interest some of our readers if we make a few re-
marks as to the standing of the various public schools in
regard to the composition of the University elevens. We have
analysed the elevens from 1861 to 1897 inclusive, and, as is
perhaps natural, Eton comes first, having had during that
period fifty-nine of her alumni representing one or other of the
Universities. We are not reckoning the number of years that
each played, but fifty-nine different Etonians have in the last
thirty-three years played in the University match : thirty-four
for Cambridge, twenty-five for Oxford. Harrow is represented
by forty-six players : twenty-four at Oxford, and twenty-two at
Cambridge. Rugby comes next with twenty-nine : nineteen
for Oxford and ten for Cambridge. At one time Rugby was
almost on a level with Eton and Harrow, for from the years
1 86 1 to 1873 inclusive there were always two Rugby men
playing in the match, and sometimes more ; since that time,
however, more than two Rugbeians have never played, two have
played only twice, and from 1884 downwards two only have
played. Mr. Leslie and Mr. Warner were the last good
cricketers Rugby sent out, and her prowess seems much
diminished as compared with the days of Pauncefote, Yardley,

354 CRICKET.

Francis, Kenney, and Case. Winchester has been represented
by twenty-three, of whom all but three have played for Oxford,
while out of eighteen Marlborough men twelve have played for
Oxford ; but Cambridge men will ever gratefully tender their
thanks to Marlborough for the services of Mr. A. G. Steel, by
far the greatest player ever turned out by that school, and per-
haps the best all-round cricketer that has yet played for either
University. Seventeen Cliftonians have played for Oxford, and
two for Cambridge ; but eleven out of fourteen Uppingham
boys have represented Cambridge. Repton has contributed
nine players, five representing Cambridge and four Oxford.
Charterhouse has had nine University players, Tonbridge six,
Cheltenham and Westminster have had five, and on the whole
the proportion between Oxford and Cambridge has been about
equal.

Of all-round players both Universities have had their full
share in numbers. Cambridge has been helped by Makinson,
A. G. Steel, C. T. Studd, and F. S. Jackson, and Oxford by
Messrs. Maitland, R. D. Walker, and S. C. Voules. The great
strength of Oxford in the years 1863-4-5 arose not only from
the fact that in Mr. Mitchell it possessed one of the five
greatest bats in England, but also that it had four such wonder-
ful all-round men as Messrs. Voules, Walker, Evans, and Inge
in 1863 ; and the same quartette, with the substitution of Mr.
Maitland for Mr. Inge, in 1864 and 1865. But not one of the
five was quite equal to any one of the Cambridge quartette, and
when we say this we take as our basis the performances of the
four in the University matches ; and we do not consider the
men who played before 1854, for it is difficult to make fair com-
parisons over so long a distance of time. The above-mentioned
four will be found in the first half-dozen of batsmen and in the
first half-dozen of bowlers. Messrs. Makinson, Yardley, Lucas,
A. Lyttelton, A. G. Steel, C. T. Studd, F. S. Jackson, and
N. F. Druce are the best batsmen from Cambridge, and
Messrs. Mitchell, Maitland, Ottaway, Pauncefote, E. F. S.
Tylecote, Key, Rashleigh, and Palairet the best from Oxford.

THE UNIVERSITY CRICKET MATCH.

355

In bowling, the champions from Oxford are Messrs, Marsham,
Traill, Kenney, S. E. Butler, and Berkeley ; from Cambridge,
Messrs. Plowden, Pelham, Lang, Woods, and A. G. Steel.
This is an opinion only, and would have to be considerably
altered if we were to take another basis than the Inter-
University match to draw our conclusions from. Mr. Kenney
never played for the Gentlemen against the Players, and
neither he nor Mr. Plowden could be compared as a bowler to
Mr. Kempson, whose performance against the Players is
historical. But he failed against Oxford. In the same way
Lord Cobham, Mr. Ridley, and Mr. Lane were each as good
as Mr. Pauncefote, but they failed in the Inter-University
match, and consequently are out of our list.

The two following tables will show the best batting and
bowling averages of those who have played for four years, and
in the case of Mr. C. D. Marsham for five years, in the
University match. The minimum batting average being 30,
and the minimum bowling average being 12: —

Name

Innings

Runs

Not out

Average

K. J. Key .
C. W. Wright
R. A. H. Mitchell

7
7
7

294
291
254

49

48-3

42'2

W. Yardley .
A. P. Lucas .
Hon. A. Lyttelton
G. B. Studd .

7
8
8
7

278
254
234
225

O
O

39*5
36-2

33 "3
32-1

A. G. Steel .

7

184

I

30-4

Name

Wickets

Runs

Average per
wicket

S. M. J. Woods .
C. D. Marsham
H. M. Plowden .
A. G. Steel .
W. F. Maitland .
Hon. F. G. Pelham
S. E. Butler .
G. F. H. Berkeley

36
40

19
38
21
26
25
27

318
362
188
342
213
292
312
341

8- 3

9-i
9-17

9'3i
10-3
n-8

12*12
12-17

356 CRICKET.

CHAPTER XII.

GENTLEMEN AND PLAYERS.

(By the Hon. R. H. Lyttelton.)

At first sight it appears impossible that amateurs — men who
play when they chance to find it convenient — should be able
to hold their own against professional cricketers who make
the game the business of their lives. Cricket, however, is the
one game where the two classes contend more or less on an
equality, unless football be also an exception. Many amateur
cricketers are not bound to work for their daily bread, and they
can consequently find time to play as much as a 'professional,'
if the accepted slang in which the adjective is employed as a
substantive be permissible. Such was the state of things a few
years ago when the Walkers, the Graces, Mr. Buchanan, and
others could always be depended on to take part in the annual
matches against the Players.

But there are other reasons besides ; and here we tread on
rather delicate ground. Suffice it to say that at one time,
and that was when the Gentlemen used heavily to defeat the
Players, there was such a very thin border-line between the
status of the amateur and professional, that a definition of
' amateur ' was often asked for and never obtained. The posi-
tion was getting acute when finally the Marylebone Club, which
is not in the habit of moving except when very strong pressure
is exerted, was obliged to discuss and legislate on the matter.
Broadly speaking, the rule stands that amateurs may take ex-
penses, and a difficult and delicate point is now set at rest.
It is a striking illustration of the great popularity of the

GENTLEMEN AND PLA YERS. 357

game that a large and increasing number of men annually
give themselves up to the profession of cricket, and it is only
in cricket that amateurs and professionals regularly compete
against each other. We have heard that from the county of
Nottingham alone several hundred professional bowlers emerge
every year, and go to fulfil cricket engagements in various
parts of the kingdom. The limits of cricket seem likely to be
extended, and we know of several English professionals who
have accepted offers from America and elsewhere. So long
ago as 1864 the famous Wm. Caffyn was engaged in Australia ;
later on, Jesse Hide, of Sussex, was in South Australia, and
several other players have been in America. All professionals,
or nearly all, first come into notice as bowlers. A club with
a ground wants a man who can bowl to its members for an
evening's practice, and he has to be there to attend on any
member who may happen to come. As a rule also, he is re-
quired to play for the club in the Saturday matches, and he
may earn by way of fixed salary, together with what he makes by
bowling at a shilling for half an hour, 3/. or 4/. per week.

If the club is situated in a county w r hich possesses a county
club, the professional may have inducements held out to him
to take up a permanent residence and become a naturalised
resident. The county of Nottingham, for instance, has only one
county eleven, but she has hundreds of professionals. These
men get engagements in all directions, and if they are good
enough to be asked to play for their adopted county, it would
be hard to deprive them of a livelihood ; though no doubt it
is provoking to Nottingham to see the success of Lancashire
largely owing to the play of Briggs, a Notts man of whose
virtues Lancashire became aware before his own county.
Nor is Briggs a solitary specimen, for Walter Wright, Lockwood,
Bean, Brown, and Wheeler play respectively for Kent, Surrey,
Sussex, Cheshire, and Leicestershire.

The congestion of professional ability in certain favoured
districts is hard to explain. Every cricketer has heard of
Lascelles Hall, the famous village near Huddersfield, to

358 CRICKET.

which Bates, the Lockwoods, the Thewlises and Allan Hill
belong. There are several villages and small towns near Not-
tingham where cricketers appear indigenous to the soil, just
as primroses are in certain localities. There have always been
cricketers in these parts, and so sure is this constant supply
that some scientific society ought really to go down and inspect
the spot, make a theory to explain the phenomenon, and read
a paper about it. Nottingham itself raised and reared Daft,
Shrewsbury, Gunn, Scotton, and Selby ; the famous Sutton-in-
Ashfield nursed Morley, J. C. Shaw, Barnes and Briggs in their
infancy. There are several large towns in Yorkshire, such as
Sheffield, Leeds, and other manufacturing centres, where the
traditions of the place are in favour of cricket ; but it is curi-
ous to observe that, though it was not so in the days of Noah
Mann, David Harris, and the Hambledon Club, the modern
professional now springs mainly from populous centres. The
only reason we can give for this is that for young players be-
tween the ages of eight and eighteen practice is everything, and
of this youngsters can generally make sure in populous places.
In a rural district the same chances may seldom occur. In
Nottingham and the West Riding towns, hundreds of boys
may be seen playing almost at the mouth of coal-pits, and
the practice they get enables them to become professional
players.

Amateurs are not by any means in the same situation.
Apart from the natural qualifications any lad may chance
to possess, he is largely benefited or the reverse by the
atmosphere of the schools to which he is sent. About the age
of thirteen he is sent to a large public school, where cricket
is regularly taught, and he has a great deal of experience if
he can manage to get into his school eleven. After that he
may go to Oxford or Cambridge, and if he is fond of the game,
he may play an unlimited quantity of cricket. Many amateurs
after they leave the university disappear for ever from first-
class cricket, as their time then ceases to be their own.

When we examine the M.C.C. cricket 'Scores and Bio-

GENTLEMEN AND PLA YERS. 359

graphies,' we find the same story over and over again : ■ This
year the Gentlemen had to regret the absence of Messrs. Hankey
and Kempson.' ' Mr. Felix did not play for the Gentlemen,
they as usual losing one of their best men.' In a footnote
attached to the score of the 1847 match at Lord's, the editor
gives a list of no fewer than sixteen gentlemen who had to
abandon the game when in their prime. It was in consequence
of this that in 1862 a match was tried between Gentlemen and
Players all under thirty, but with no better success for the
Gentlemen.

The first Gentlemen and Players' match took place in 1806
on the old Lord's ground, so the contest between these teams is
not so old by one year as the Eton and Harrow. It is true that
in 'The Cricket Field' Mr. Pycroft says that Lord F. Beauclerk
and the Hons. H. and T. Tufton had previously made an at-
tempt to get a Gentlemen and Players' match, and the Players
won, giving the services of T. Walker, Beldham, and Hammond.
These three men were nearly the best in England, and to call
the Players a representative eleven without them was absurd.
The same objection may be mentioned in discussing the next
match in 1806, when the Gentlemen were helped by two of the
foremost players : this made a more equal match, but apparently
rather too much was given, for the amateurs beat the Players in
an innings and 14 runs. Beldham and Lambert were the two
given men, and at that time Lambert was unquestionably the
finest player of the day. A second match was played a fort-
night later, when the amateurs were a second time victorious,
and in this case Lambert alone was given. After this match
there was a considerable hiatus, for the rival teams did not
meet again till 181 9, when a match was played on even terms,
the Players winning by six wickets. Mr. Budd scored 56 for
the Gentlemen, and Tom Beagley 75 for the Players —

. . . Worthy Beagley,
Who is quite at the top ;
With the bat he's first rate, a brick wall at long-stop.

360 CRICKET.

Mr. Budd in this match stumped six of the Players, and only
one bye was recorded against him and the long-stop. In 1820
T. C. Howard, who had bowled for the Players, was transferred
to the Gentlemen, and they won by 70 runs. In 1821 the
Gentlemen scored 60 and the Players 278 for six wickets, at
which stage the Gentlemen succumbed and gave up the match.
Beagley, who appeared to be partial to amateur bowling, made
113 not out, and began the long list of hundreds that have
since been obtained in this match. In 1822 Lord F. Beau-
clerk bowled finely, Mr. Vigne stumped four and caught two
at the wicket, Mr. Budd made 69 runs, and the Gentlemen
won by six wickets. Elated by this victory, in 1823 the
amateurs again threw down the gauntlet on even terms and
were defeated heavily by 345 runs.

This knock-down blow must have cowed the Gentlemen, for
in the next four matches they played fourteen, sixteen with
Mathews, and seventeen in the two matches of 1827 ; and
each side won two. In 1828 there was no match, and in 1829
and 1830 they stole two players to help them. This was a
period when the superiority of the professionals was very marked,
for in 1 83 1, '32, and '33 odds were given on each occasion,
but still victory refused to crown the efforts of the amateurs.
In 1832 the Gentlemen defended smaller wickets than those
of their opponents, but the game was admitted to be a failure.
The extraordinary result of all the matches between 1824 and
1833 in which the Gentlemen had odds, was that out of eight
matches the Players won six. The bowling of W. Lillywhite,
Cobbett, and others was far too good for the amateurs, and the
records of the Players were wonderful.

In 1833, however, for the first time the famous Alfred Mynn
appeared on the scene. This crack amateur was the idol of
Kent and the terror of his opponents. Very tall in stature and
heavy in weight, he was at that time and for many years sub-
sequently one of the fastest bowlers in England. His physique
was enormous, and he could bowl a great number of balls
without any sacrifice of pace or precision. When asked how

GENTLEMEN AND PLAYERS. 361

many balls he should like the over to consist of, he said as far
as he was concerned he should like a hundred. He was a hard
hitter, fond of driving the ball in front of the wicket, and was
probably the champion at the then frequently played single-
wicket matches. It must have been a fine sight to see Alfred
Mynn advance and deliver the ball ; he took a short run and
held himself up to nearly his full height as the ball left his
hand. He was of unfailing good humour, and is immortalised in
by far the best cricket poem yet published, which may be found
in the ' Scores and Biographies,' vol. ii. p. 200. Altogether he
was one of the leading players of his day, and his arrival gave a
strength to the amateurs that was sorely needed,

Proudly, sadly we will name him — to forget him were a sin ;
Lightly lie the turf upon thee, kind and manly Alfred Mynn.

In 1834 the match was played on even terms, but again
the result was disastrous to the amateurs, for they were beaten
in an innings and 2 1 runs ; nor did the assistance of Cobbett
and Redgate, two of the crack bowlers of the day, save them
from defeat in 1835, though Alfred Mynn scored 53 and bowled
down four wickets. In 1836 eighteen Gentlemen won by 35
runs, and again was Alfred Mynn to the fore, for he scored 29
and 30 and got eight wickets. In the following year was played
a match, when the Gentlemen defended three wickets, 27 inches
by 8, and the Players four, 36 inches by 12. The match was
the famous ' Barn Door Match,' or ' Ward's Folly,' but again
the impotence of the amateurs' batting caused them to be de-
feated in one innings and 10 runs. Thirteen was the highest
amateur score and the only double figure, and Lillywhite and
Redgate apparently did what they liked in the way of bowling.
In 1838 Alfred Mynn was away, so the amateurs helped them-
selves to Pilch, Cobbett, and Wenman, three good men from
the professional ranks ; they lost the match, however, by 40 runs.
This was the last match in which odds have been given. A
drawn game was played in 1839, an(i tw i ce tne Players were
victorious in 1840 and 1841. In 1842 and 1843 tne Gentle-

362 CRICKET.

men gained two victories, the match in 1842 being their first
win on even terms since 1822. Mynn and Sir F. Bathurst got
all the wickets for the Gentlemen ; the former scored 2 1 and 46,
and Mr. Felix played a fine innings of 88, having been missed
badly at short-slip before he scored. In 1843 tne Gentlemen
actually won in one innings on even terms, for the first time on
record. Again Alfred Mynn did excellent service, for he made
47 runs and lowered eight wickets. Mr. C. G. Taylor scored 89
runs and then his hat fell on the wicket, or rather it was knocked
off, which showed that Lord's had a way of testing the bravery
as well as the skill of batsmen. In 1844 the Gentlemen lost the
services of Mr. Felix, perhaps their best bat, and Sir F. Bathurst,
their second best bowler, and were defeated by 38 runs. The
famous William Lillywhite, who ' handled the ball as he would
do a brick,' and Hillyer were the crack professional bowlers
at this time, and sad havoc they made of amateur wickets.
Lillywhite was fifty-two years old in 1844, two years older
than W. G. Grace, who in the year 1898 is par excellence
the veteran cricketer. The era of Alfred Mynn and Sir F.
Bathurst was the golden age of amateur bowling, for Mynn
was at the top of the tree in this department of the game for a
far longer period than any amateur has been since. He played
twenty matches for the Gentlemen against the Players, and
though he was generally on the losing side, did great things
both with bat and ball, especially with the latter. In 1845 tne
Players again won, old Lillywhite, aged fifty-three, taking twelve
wickets for 96 runs — a remarkable performance.

The match for the year 1846 is an historical one for one
or two reasons. It was the first time that George Parr, aged
20, and William Clarke, aged 47, represented the Players.
Both were Nottingham men ; the younger was very nearly the
best bat in England, and the elder, if not the best bowler all
round, certainly by far the most successful bowler of lobs that
has ever appeared. Clarke had played for thirty seasons before
he was chosen to represent the Players. He died in 1856 at
the age of 57, played cricket during the last year of his life, and

GENTLEMEN AND PLA YERS. 363

took a wicket with the last ball he ever bowled. He was head
and captain of the ' All England Eleven ' which used to tour
about the country. Very amusing work it must have been for
old Clarke, bowling on rough provincial grounds to provincial
batsmen ; and who can wonder that he, with several other bowl-
ing captains, had a great dislike to taking himself off? He was
one-eyed, having lost his right eye while indulging in the manly
game of fives. He certainly got a lot of wickets in the best of
matches, but there is nothing to guide speculation as to how
Clarke and Lillywhite would have fared if they had bowled
to W. G. Grace and McLaren. Round old Clarke's head, as
round the heads of Fuller Pilch, Alfred Mynn, and William
Lillywhite, an aureole has gathered ; they are the great lights
of that epoch of cricket, and during his career old Clarke must
have been one of those few bowlers who generally made fools
of batsmen.

To return to this year of 1846, as it was Parr and Clarke's
first Gentlemen and Players, so it was C. G. Taylor's last. This
great player at all games was an Eton and Cambridge man ;
and, like many old cricketers, formed the theme of poets.
1 Taylor the most graceful of all,' one writes, and again he is
represented as being

Unlike our common sons, whose gradual ray

Expands from twilight into purer day,

His blaze broke forth at once in full meridian sway.

Mr. C. G. Taylor was evidently born with an eye ; he often ran
out to bowling to drive, could field splendidly either at point,
coverpoint, or mid-wicket, and bowled slow round-arm, we are
told, both well and gracefully. We suspect that, as may be
inferred from the description of his style of play, there was a-
weak place in his defence, and he used to have long bouts of
small scores. But so graceful and altogether fascinating was
his style, that all his great innings were indelibly stamped on
the memory of those who witnessed them. In this his last
Gentlemen and Players match he got 23 and 44. It was a

364 CRICKET.

great match, won by the Gentlemen by one wicket, and the
credit was due to Messrs. R. P. Long and Taylor for batting,
and to Alfred Mynn and Sir F. Bathurst for bowling.

In the following year, 1847, tne Players again won, but at
this period the sides were far more even than they had been
before for any long time together. The redoubtable bowlers
Mynn and Bathurst were helped by Harvey Fellows, the
celebrated Etonian, and George Yonge the Oxonian ; and we
doubt if the Gentlemen have ever been so strong in this line
since. These two bowled out the Players in 1848 for 79 and
77 runs, Mynn getting eight wickets in the second innings and
hitting up 66 runs. In this year, in fact, it is a question if the
amateurs were not stronger in bowling than batting.

In the next year, 1849, further triumph awaited the
amateurs, for winning the toss they scored 192 runs, compelled
the Players to follow on, and won the match in one innings
and 40 runs. Alfred Mynn did not get a wicket, but Harvey
Fellows bowled his fastest, first hurt his opponents, and then
got them out. Old Wm. Lillywhite played his last Gentlemen
and Players match this year, and we read that he refused to
bat in his second innings because he was hurt by Mr. Fellows.
He was 57 years old, so may be excused if he felt a little ner-
vous on old Lord's ground at standing up to one who used to
make the ball hum like a top.

The famous 'Nonpareil bowler,' as old Lillywhite was
called, was the king of bowlers in the days when he flourished.
Mr. Robert Grimston, who remembered him well, said that
though a slow bowler he was quicker off the ground than
Alfred Shaw. He lived in the days when wides were common,
but it is recorded that during his whole career he did not
deliver half a dozen. He was born in Sussex in 1792, and
played as a given man for the Gentlemen in 1829 and 1830 ;
after that began his long career as principal bowler for the
Players. He was, therefore, no less than 39 years of age
wnen he played his first match for the Players. If to other
cricketers may be given the credit of inventing round-arm

GENTLEMEN AND PLA YERS. 365

bowling, still to Lillywhite and Broadbridge all honour is due
for having been the first really good round-arm bowlers. Lilly-
white bowled in seventeen matches against the Gentlemen and
got 132 wickets, or close upon eight wickets per match. He was
occasionally useful as a bat, and though he refused to go in, as
just recorded, he had plenty of pluck when younger, for in
a single wicket match he stood up for 278 balls to George
Brown, to whose bowling Little Dench of Brighton used to
long-stop with a sack stuffed full of straw to protect his chest.
Batting gloves were not used in those days, and Lillywhite had
his fingers broken three times before they were invented. Fuller
Pilch played his last Gentlemen and Players match this year,
which is famous for witnessing the farewell of such great
cricketers as himself and William Lillywhite. Pilch was born
in 1803, and was therefore 46 years old in 1849.

Another young tailor, as fine a young man
As e'er hit a ball and then afterwards ran.

Pilch was undoubtedly the champion of his day, and his
mantle fell on George Parr. He was the originator of what
we call in modern times ' forward play,' and his object was the
sound one of smothering the ball at the pitch. He was the
worst enemy of William Clarke, for he left his ground to balls
that were well up and ran him down with a straight bat. He
was one of the dauntless five that carried Kent into a unique
position among cricket counties.

And with five such mighty cricketers 'twas but natural to win,
As Felix, Wenman, Hillyer, Fuller Pilch, and Alfred Mynn.

In 1850 the famous Johnny Wisden came to the front and
the Players grew stronger, and George Parr made 65 runs not
out. Wisden and Clarke bowled unchanged, and got rid of their
rivals for 42 and 58, winning the match in one innings and
'48 runs in 1850, and in 1851 they also won in a single innings.
Wisden, Grundy, and Caffyn were three fine all-round men,
and Joe Guy of Nottingham was apparently quite at home

366 CRICKET.

to amateur bowling. Both Mynn and Fellows had lost their
devil, or perhaps it might be more correct to say that the latter
had lost his straightness and accuracy. In 1852 the Players
won by five wickets, and the great Alfred Mynn retires from
the scene as far as this match is concerned.

In 1853 fine bowling won the Gentlemen a match by 60 runs.
Both Sir F. Bathurst and Mr. Kempson bowled unchanged all
through the two innings of the Players, and got rid of them for
42 and 69. Martingell got seven wickets for 19 runs in the
second innings of the Gentlemen, so this was essentially a
bowlers' match ; and though it is an historical fact that it was
the first time the Gentlemen never had to change their bowl-
ing, in 1846 Mynn and Sir F. Bathurst got all the wickets,
and Mr. Taylor was only on for a few overs. Sir F. Bathurst
might therefore have bowled one end all the time if Mr. Taylor
had relieved Mynn. At any rate, to Sir F. Bathurst is due the
credit of being one of the main causes of two defeats of the
Players. He was a fast bowler with a low delivery, but very
straight.

In 1854 both sides played weak, four Players refusing to
come forward because of a dispute between Clarke and the
M.C.C., and the Gentlemen losing Messrs. Hankey and Kemp-
son. An uneventful match was the result, and the Players
again won. From 1853 to 1865 the match was played on even
terms, but the Players had a run of victory, and not once
during that time did the Gentlemen prove successful. There
is no doubt that the batting strength of the Players during these
years was very considerable, and, though George Parr, Hayward,
and Carpenter did not score their hundreds as the men of modern
times so often have done, they made their fifties and sixties
with nearly the same consistency. Parr was a most regular
scorer during the decade between 1853 and 1863, and his
average for the whole series of these matches must have been
very high.

In 1855 the Players won easily by seven wickets, though the
Gentlemen began well ; but in their second innings Dean and

GENTLEMEN AND PLA VERS. 369

John Lillywhite got them out for 43, five consecutive wickets
falling without a run. In 1857 the Gentlemen lost several of
their best men, but the famous Oxonians, Messrs. Marsham and
Payne, bowled finely, and though the Players had only 70 to
get to win, they only pulled through by two wickets. Willsher
played this year for the first time, and he and Wisden were too
much for the Gentlemen. The year 1857 was an historical one
for two reasons. In the first place at Lord's was played one of
the closest matches of the series, a game also famous for one
of those great batting feats the recollection of which lingers
long ; and in the second place because a second match was
played for the first time at the Oval. The historical innings was
that of Mr. Reginald Hankey, whom George Parr considers
the finest bat he ever saw. This is the proverbial effort quoted
by all who saw it as the masterpiece of its day, and Mr. Grace
himself has never played an innings that made more sensation.
Mr. Hankey got 70 runs in an hour and three-quarters, and hit
the fast bowling of Willsher, Wisden, Jackson, and Stephenson
all over the ground. Messrs. Hankey, Haygarth, Drake and
Lane amassed 224 runs, the other seven only 58 between them,
and in the end the players won by 13 runs. Mr. Drake played
his hardest to win, making a score of 58 out of 114.

At the Oval the Players won easily by ten wickets, and on
this ground the Gentlemen lost every match till 1866. In
those days the Oval was what we should call a better ground
than Lord's — that is to say, it was more in favour of the batsmen
and long scores ; and consequently the weak amateur bowl-
ing was at a considerable discount. In 1858 at the Oval the
Players won by three wickets, and R. Daft played for the Gentle-
men for the first and only time. At Lord's in the same year
the Gentlemen collapsed in batting and lost by 285 runs, the
bowling of Jackson being at this period an object of dread
among the amateurs. In 1859 the Players won both matches
easily, and the famous • Robert Carpenter made his first ap-
pearance, scoring 44 runs at the Oval.

In i860, at the Oval, the Players won by eight wickets ;

B B

37o CRICKET.

Mr. T. E. Bagge made two scores of 62 and 60, and the scoring
altogether was very large for those days. Carpenter made 119
in his one innings. At Lord's the other great Cambridgeshire
player, Tom Hayward, came on the scene with a vengeance,
scoring 132 runs, and the Players won in one innings and 181
runs, though George Parr could not play. At this time the
tremendous bowling of Jackson and Willsher was at its best,
and Hayward, Carpenter, Parr, and Daft were too good for
amateur bowling. In 1861 the Players won in one innings and
60 runs at Lord's, and in one innings and 68 runs at the Oval ;
Carpenter for the second time making a hundred.

In 1862 a famous drawn match was played at the Oval.
Over 200 runs were made in each innings, and there was curious
equality of scoring, the highest figures on each side being 108,
made by Mr. John Walker for the Gentlemen, and by Hayward
for the Players. The match was drawn, the Players having lost
eight wickets and still wanting 33 runs. Mr. Walker was bowl-
ing lobs a good deal in this match, and whilst Anderson and
Stephenson were batting just before stumps were drawn at the
end of the day, each having made 33, the famous Tom Lock-
yer, who could not endure lobs, was continually to be seen
nervously looking at the clock ; to go in against these dreaded
balls was a privilege he did not covet. Willsher, Parr, and
Daft could not play for the Players, nor Messrs. Makinson and
Mitchell for the Gentlemen. At Lord's a match was played,
between the elevens, all the engaged being under thirty, and
the Players won by 157 runs. Mr. C. D. Marsham, the stea-
diest of all Gentlemen bowlers, played his last Gentlemen and
Players match this year. He had taken part in ten matches,
but never had the good luck to be on the winning side.

In 1863 the great Hayward made 112 runs in his only
innings, and nobody else except Mr. Walker got 30 runs in the
match, which the Players won by eight wickets, Jackson and
Tarrant being quite unplayable on the rough Lord's wicket.
Mr. R. A. H. Mitchell played for the first time, and, with the

GENTLEMEN AND PLAYERS. 37 r

exception of Mr. Grace, no greater batsman has appeared for
the Gentlemen, though he did not play for many years. At the
Oval in the same year Mr. Mitchell scored 76 and 6 j but the
Gentlemen were weak in bowling, and the Players won by nine
wickets. At Lord's in 1864 Tarrant and Willsher bowled un-
changed during the match, and the Gentlemen scored 1 1 9 in
the two innings; but at the Oval there were a lot of runs made,
Stephenson putting together 117, and Messrs. C. G. Lyttelton
and Makinson playing two fine innings for the Gentlemen.

In 1865 began what brought about a revolution in cricket,
for W. G. Grace played his first match, and at once began
to score. Originally more famous as a bowler, he has since
made runs in a manner and to an extent altogether unparalleled
in the history of cricket, and soon after his appearance the
almost dull monotony of professional victory was changed for
the almost equally dull monotony of professional defeat. When
he first began to play there was a schism in the professional
ranks which lasted several years; between 1863 and 187 1,
many of the crack Northern players refused to play at the Oval,
and soon afterwards at Lord's also. It is a curious fact that at
Lord's in 1865 the amateurs won by eight wickets, scoring
a victory for the first time since 1853, after losing nineteen
matches in succession. This was W. G. Grace's first match and
George Parr's last, the latter having scored sixty runs in his
actual last innings. Grace was sixteen years old, and Parr,
who first played in 1846, was 39. Parr's average for these
matches was no less than twenty-eight, and his was altogether
one of the best and longest careers ever seen.

Up to 1886 Mr. Grace had played 78 innings in these
matches, and averaged 45 runs an innings. From that date to
the present he has averaged 26 runs an innings ; and it is not
easy to say that anybody is his superior now in 1893. The
cricket schism weakened the Players very much for several
years at the beginning of his career, and the matches were
in consequence not so interesting. At the Oval, in 1866, the
Gentlemen followed their innings, but won the match by 98
runs, and this was the first time they were successful at the

372 CRICKET.

Kennington ground ; but no Northern players appeared except
, Grundy, Wootton, Luke Greenwood and Alfred Shaw. It was
the same story in 1867 and in every match till 1872 ; the ama-
teurs were generally successful. Since that period, however, it
has always been considered a special honour to be asked to
represent either eleven, and the Committees at both Lord's and
the Oval now offer higher terms to the professionals for this than
for any other match. For some reason which we are totally
unable to explain, between the years 1867 and 1877 there was a
blight on the Players . Their batting fell off to an extraordinary
extent, nor was their fast bowling at all up to the level of what it
used to be. Of course W. G. Grace was the main cause of the
apparent weakness of the bowling, but this could not account
for the great batting deterioration. The Players won at the
Oval in 1865 and did not win again till 1880, though one
match was drawn considerably in their favour. Up to 1874,
including the Oval matches and omitting three unfinished, the
Players lost twelve matches in succession, mainly owing to Mr.
Grace.

If we take the best of the innings of 100 played in these
matches to the year 1893, we find that there have been 41
individual innings of over 100 runs played, and Mr. Grace has
played eleven himself, or nearly a third of the whole ; and when
we remember that he has had a great deal of bowling to do as
well, it may be said with confidence that no such performances
for so many years have ever been seen in the history of cricket.
In 1873 ne g ot J ^3 runs at Lord's, and 158 at the Oval, and
in the latter match scored seven wickets in the Players' second
innings. In 1874 the Gentlemen won by seven wickets, having
to go in for 226 runs to win. Mr. Grace had got 77 runs in
his first innings, went in first in the second innings, stayed in
till 152 runs were scored, and was then out for 112. The
match was won by seven wickets.

The most exciting match that has occurred was in the
year 1877. The Players made 192, and the Gentlemen 198
in the first innings, and the players 148 in the second. Con-
sequently, to win the match 143 runs were wanted by the

GENTLEMEN AND PLA YERS. 373

Gentlemen. The wicket was not quite a first-rate one, and
good judges anticipated a close finish. Grace made 41, and
Alfred Lyttelton 20 j but Watson, Ulyett, and Morley bowled
well, and the Gentlemen wanted 46 runs to win when nine
wickets had fallen. Mr. W. S. Patterson and G. F. Grace were
in, and gradually, by excellent play, the runs were secured. In
1888 there was another most exciting match at Lord's, when
both sides were the strongest that could have been chosen,
except that Shrewsbury did not assist the Players. The wicket
was very difficult from start to finish, and the Players only
required 78 runs to win. It was Mr. Woods' first year of first-
class cricket, and he obtained ten wickets for 76 runs. His
bowling, together with that of Mr. Smith and Mr. Steel, got the
Players out for 72, and the Gentlemen won the match by 5 runs.

In 1883 a tie match was played at the Oval, for the first
and only time. The wicket was difficult on the third day, and
the Gentlemen, who lost the services of Mr. W. G. Grace for
the first time since 1867, were 31 runs ahead on the first innings.
Bates did well for the Players in the second innings and scored
76 runs, making his last 30 runs in eight hits. Rain fell in the
night, and Flowers found a spot. Mr. Lucas, who scored 47
not out, was really caught at point when he had got 8, but the
catch was a low one, and neither umpire would give a decision
when appealed to. So he continued his innings, which was
hard for the Players. Fourteen were wanted when Mr. Rother-
ham joined Mr. Lucas, and when 8 runs were wanted Bates
badly missed Rotherham. When the match was a tie, Peate
was put on, and clean bowled Rotherham with his second ball.
The Players had rather hard lines in Lucas's case, but they
lost the match through the bad miss of Bates.

In 1879, following the good example set by Sir F. Bathurst
and Kempson, the Gentlemen won the Oval match without
once having to change their bowlers. Messrs. Steel and Evans
were the heroes ; Evans got ten wickets, and Steel nine. The
wicket was difficult, but the batting was feeble, and only realised
totals of 73 and 48.

For the last few years the Players have gradually recovered

374

CRICKET.

their lost prestige, and reached the high-water mark of excellence
in 1887, when, for the first time since 1861, they won both
matches in one innings each. At the date of writing (1898)
the two sides present very much the same features as have
distinguished them hitherto. The amateurs are as strong, and
perhaps a little stronger in batting, the professionals much
stronger in bowling, though not perhaps so much so as at most
previous epochs ; but there is one remarkable difference, and
that is in wicket-keeping. In old days the professionals were
vastly superior to the amateurs ; now there is practically nothing
between them, and this fact is probably because of the greater
accuracy of modern amateur bowling, which makes it easier to
take, and does not knock the wicket-keeper about so much.

A survey of the whole series of matches points to the fact
that, as is natural, the Gentlemen have been, and probably will
be, beaten as a general rule. Every cricketer knows what it is
to play in an eleven with a comrade, either a batsman or
bowler, of commanding superiority. Such a man makes an
eleven. He does this by giving confidence . to the other ten
members of the team. They feel that the match does not
depend on them, that if they fail he will pull them through,
and consequently they go in boldly and score. The two notable
instances of one man making an eleven are W. G. Grace and
Spofforth. Of course there were good players amongst the
Australians and amongst the Gentlemen, but the presence of
Grace and Spofforth was an incalculable benefit. The
Australians began a match feeling sure that, even if they did
not run up large scores, Spofforth would get rid of their
opponents for less.

In conclusion, let us express a hope that the Gentlemen
and Players match will never fall through : for, having been
played off and on since 1806, it has a notable history, and it
ought to be the summit of ambition in every cricketer, be
he amateur or professional, to appear in these great classic
contests.

375

CHAPTER XIII.

THE ART OF TRAINING YOUNG CRICKETERS.

(By R. A. H. Mitchell.)

A six-year old.

F you want to play cricket
you must begin as a
boy, is a true, if not
an original, remark.

We remember asking a
member of a well-known

cricketing fraternity what promise a younger brother gave
of future excellence, and his reply was, 'He's no good — but

376 CRICKET.

then he hasn't had a chance, for he was so delicate he couldn't
begin till he was six years old.' We do not ourselves presume
to say that the game must necessarily be learnt whilst a child
is under his nurse's care ; but nevertheless we know of no
instance, unless Mr, A. E. Stoddart forms an exception to the
rule, of anyone attaining to the first rank who has not received
his early lessons in the noble game while still a boy. If this be
so, it is of interest to all cricketers to consider what training a
boy ought to have. Is he to be left merely to the light of
nature and his own powers of observation, or is he to be sys-
tematically coached, and taught daily how each stroke is to be
made and each ball bowled ? Many think that a training of
this kind can hardly be begun' too soon or carried out with
too great care and rigour. This may be so ; but we are by no
means inclined to agree with such a Spartan discipline. We
believe that in games, as in life, if a thing is worth doing at all,
it is worth doing well ; but, although we claim to be second to
none in our keenness to see good boy cricketers, we differ in the
method we advocate from those who support so severe a system
of coaching young boys.

Let us give some reasons in support of our view. In
the first place, success in cricket, and not in cricket alone,
depends on the enjoyment and interest taken in the game, and
we believe that there is great danger of destroying this enjoy-
ment and interest by incessant coaching and teaching at too
early an age. In the second place, all coaching has a tendency
at first to eradicate individual peculiarities and to cramp a
natural style. Mr. W. G. Grace, Mr. A. G. Steel, Shrewsbury,
and many . other well-known batsmen have peculiarities of
their own, which could not have been taught in early boyhood,
but which might very easily have been cramped, and perhaps
entirely obliterated, much to their detriment, in the hands of
even a skilful coach. We do not deprecate all advice even
to very young boys, but we dislike anything that tends to
interfere with the powers of nature ; and although we shall
be told that a good teacher merely directs them in the best

ART OF TRAINING YOUNG CRICKETERS. 377

possible way, we do not think that the advantage likely to be
gained will at all compensate for a cramped style or loss of en-
joyment. What should be taught, and when, we will endeavour
to suggest as we proceed.

First, however, one word to anxious parents* and teachers of
the art. It is quite hopeless to expect that every boy can be
made into a cricketer. Countless are the excuses we hear to
cover the feebleness and incapacity of would-be players, made
sometimes by their parents, sometimes by themselves. They
have never been coached, or they have been badly coached ;
they have been made to play too much, or they can't play often
enough ; the ground they play on is so rough, or it is so easy
that they can't play on more difficult ground. They used to
bowl very well ; but they were overbowled, or they were never
put on ; or they are always put on at the wrong end, or the
catches are always missed off their bowling. These and many
other excuses are urged on their behalf ; but those who have
watched cricket for but a few years will soon learn to take such
futile pleas for what they are worth. No boy can become a
good cricketer who has not a natural capacity for the game.
The batsman must have a good eye and is all the better for
a good nerve ; the fieldsman must be active; the bowler — ah!
what must he have? Nascitur non fit; we will not commit
ourselves at present to his requirements.

In saying this do not let it be supposed that we wish those
only to play cricket who are likely to become good cricketers — far
from it; but we are concerned with the game as an art and not
as an exercise, and do not wish to raise vain hopes of success
where success is impossible.

Now let us consider the three great departments of the game
in detail; for, although they are necessarily and closely connected,
we cannot treat of batting, bowling, and fielding in the same
paragraph.

The batsman then first demands our attention, not because
he is more useful to his side than the' bowler, but because it is
here that more may be taught than in any other department of

373 CRICKET.

the game. Take a boy ten years old —we start with double
figures, let it be an omen for his future ! — what can we tell
him ? Very little, we think, but certainly this : never to move
his right foot, but to plant it firmly just inside the crease, with
the toe barely clear of the leg-stump.

The left foot should also be placed in the same line, but it
must be moved into the position which is found to be the easiest
for playing or hitting any given ball. The batsman must learn
to stand perfectly still with his eye fixed on the bowler's hand,
and he must try to think of the ball, and the ball alone; any
fidgeting about is apt to interfere with an accurate habit of
sight. A boy should also be told to drive the ball in front of
the wicket and along the ground. We do not approve of the
cut for young boys; it is the batsman's most finished stroke, but
it is absolutely fatal when attempted at an unsuitable ball. This
is all we think it necessary to teach our juvenile batsman, though
occasional hints beyond this may sometimes be useful. Do not,
however, cramp a boy who is disposed to hit, but tell him to hit
straight ; it is easier at a later age to stop hitting than to teach
it. For this reason single-wicket matches among small boys
are not without their use, as they naturally encourage hard hit-
ting in front of the wicket.

A danger which is not sufficiently guarded against at some
private schools is the habit of allowing young boys to play
to fast bowling; masters and others take part in the games
and the practice, and bowl at a pace which would be called
medium in a man's match, but which is very fast for boys under
fourteen years of age. The result of this is that boys learn to
be afraid of the ball ; and if they once show fear they will never
become good players. It seems all but impossible to restore
confidence even at a much later age, and we know of many
instances — we will not be so unkind as to mention names — in
which boys with great natural powers have never overcome their
fear of the ball, which they had acquired before coming to a
public school. For the same reason the growing custom of small
boys playing in men's matches is to be strongly deprecated.

ART OF TRAINING YOUNG CRICKETERS. 379

Drawing away from the wicket.

Boys'
matches we
strongly ap-
prove of, but boys
of fourteen and un-
der ought not to
play in matches with
full-grown men. If
a boy with a natural
gift for cricket has
learnt by the time
he enters a public
school to stand
firmly and play the
ball in front of the
wicket, he has learnt
all that is necessary
to turn him out a
good batsman later

3 8o CRICKET.

on ; but if fast bowling has taught him to fear the ball, we
have but little hope of ever seeing him attain to the first class.

A few years have elapsed, and our young batsman at the
age of thirteen or fourteen is passing into the larger sphere of
a public school. What ought to be his training there ?

It cannot be expected that he will receive the same attention
that will be given at a later age, when he is a candidate for
his school eleven, nor do we think that he need be subjected
to any rigorous system of coaching. On the other hand, he
ought to have some one of experience to give him occasional
hints and instil into him the true principles of the game.
Above everything else, he should have good ground to play
upon, so that, if his confidence has not been previously shaken,
he will not now learn to shrink from the ball. The question
of ground must always be a great difficulty ; for, although it
may be easy to get an extent sufficient to satisfy the require-
ments of a large public school, it is no easy matter to keep it
in proper order and provide good match and practice wickets
throughout the summer for a large number of boys, especially
as the ground is generally required for football or other purposes
during the winter. However, the better the ground the better
the batsmen ; and if this be true, a good ground is one of the
most important requirements in the training of our cricketers.

As a boy grows in years he will require, and will probably
get, more instruction, and if he meets with a coach of good
judgment and experience he will soon learn all that can be
taught. His success will depend on his own natural powers,
his temper, and his perseverance. We do not propose to deal
in detail with all the duties of a coach, but perhaps a few hints
may not be altogether out of place.

First of all, then, we would say, do not coach a boy too
often. Once a week is all that is either necessary or desirable.
A boy who is anxious to learn will lay to heart the hints and
instructions he has received, and he will find it easier to carry
them out when he is practising with his schoolfellows than
when he is actually receiving instruction from a coach. A

ART OF TRAINING YOUNG CRICKETERS. 381.

new attitude or a new stroke always presents great difficulty,
easy as it may seem in itself; and a boy who is trying some-
thing new will not at first play better, and will become nervous
and disheartened if he is being too constantly pressed by an
ardent teacher.

Do not let a boy practise for more than half an hour at a
time, or he will become careless and lose interest. During that
time he should play to both fast and slow bowling, but never
to more than two bowlers; and it would be well if he
could play for a quarter of an hour to two slow bowlers, and
another quarter to two fast. It is confusing to some boys to
receive fast and slow balls alternately, particularly when they
are trying to alter or improve some point of style under the
direction of a coach.

Do not allow boys to play to fast bowling on bad wickets :
slow bowling on a bad wicket is a good lesson occasionally, as
it necessitates careful watching of the ball and accurate timing;
but fast bowling on bumpy ground can only do harm. Never
allow throwing instead of bowling, — it does infinite mischief.

A coach will naturally have to give instruction on numerous
points, and try to get his pupil to carry out what he teaches;
but there is one warning which must be impressed on the lad
more strongly than anything else. It is this : when you go to
the wicket in a match don't be thinking of this or that position,
or this or that stroke, but fix your eye on the bowler's hand as
he comes up to bowl. Think of and watch the ball only ; if
you learn correct habits in practice, your instinct will throw you
into the right position and enable you to make the right stroke,
provided that your eye does not fail you with the ball.

We do not purpose to describe how each stroke should be
made or to enumerate all the instructions that should be given
to the youthful batsman ; for such details would be long and
wearisome, and entirely unnecessary for the guidance of anyone
who understands the true principles of the game ; and certainly
no one ought to try and teach until he has (at all events theo-
retically) mastered these, though it is by no means necessary

i82 CRICKET.

for a good coach to be himself a first-rate exponent of the
batsman's art. We would point out, however, that, apart from
natural gifts, over which the coach has no control, the most
important point to teach the batsman is first to watch the ball;
secondly, to throw himself at the right moment into the right
position— if he can do this, it is an easy matter to hit or play
almost any given ball ; thirdly, to meet the ball either in playing
back or forward, and not to play in front of the left foot when
playing forward or behind the right when playing back.

And now what are we to say of the bowler's art? How are
we to teach our boys the most unteachable department of the
game ? This part of our subject we approach with many mis-
givings, and though we wish to limit our advice to what is
strictly practical, we feel that this very limit will make many
think that our hints are but meagre and uninteresting.

We must again * put back the clock ' (oh that some" of us
decrepit cricketers could do so in reality !) to the age of ten.
Again we ask for some natural power of propelling a ball with
ease, strength proportioned to age, perseverance, and a real
love of the game. Given these materials to work upon, how
are we to begin ? First of all, let the distance be short, cer-
tainly not more than eighteen yards at the age of ten ; let the
ball be smaller and lighter than the regulation size, and let a boy
be taught at first to aim only at one length ; as he becomes
fairly master of straightness and pitch, let him try to vary the
length a little, but not too often, or he may sacrifice regularity
and injure his delivery. Change of pace can hardly be looked
for at this age; but great care should be taken to prevent a boy
from bowling fast, and he should not bowl for long together.
In practice it is a good plan to take alternate overs with another
boy, as it is easier to bowl four or five balls well and then rest
than to go on bowling a greater number. A boy should be
taught to measure the distance he runs before delivering the
ball, and he should learn to bowl on both sides of the
wicket. Great care should be taken to prevent a boy from
bowling too much ; and if his bowling seems to be getting

ART OF TRAINING YOUNG CRICKETERS. 383

worse rather than better, let him leave off for some days. We
offer no advice on the more abstruse arts of bowling, as the sub-
ject has been exhaustively treated in a previous chapter.

Supposing that our boy bowler has by the age of fourteen
acquired straightness and pitch, with some power of variation,
will he have a fair chance of improving his bowling and
distinguishing himself when at a public school ? We fear
that this will be a trying time — indeed must be so, even if he
is taken in hand by some one who understands and takes an
interest in the game. In the first place, batting is more attrac-
tive to most boys ; in the second, the young bowler will prG-
bably have a very indifferent field, and the missing of catches
tempts the youthful player to abandon the slower pace for the
faster, with disastrous results to himself. Almost all young
boys wish to bowl as fast as they can, and this ends frequently
in ruining a good action and a good arm which had at one
time threatened the fall of many a good wicket.

At this point, then, in a bowler's career, public schools, we
think, have something to answer for; but we do not agree with
those who say that subsequently, when a boy is old enough to
be a candidate for his school eleven, there is any great lack of
system or careful training. Rather, if a short digression may
be pardoned, we think that the Universities, or the laziness of
University men, may chiefly be blamed for the dearth of gentle-
men bowlers. Our argument shortly stated is this. If we com-
pare gentlemen bowlers of the age of nineteen with professionals
of the same age, we shall find that the former have nothing to
fear from the comparison. But pass on for five or six years,
and the gentlemen are seen to be behind in the race for pre-
eminence. Can this be the fault of public schools ? Is it not
rather that after leaving school few, scarcely any, systematically
practise bowling, although they are just at the right age to
improve, having stronger muscles and more experience, to say
nothing of leisure hours and increased opportunities? If
University men would practise their bowling both at nets and
in matches with the same assiduity that boys do at a public

384 CRICKET.

school, we think that it would approach more nearly to the pro-
fessional standard than it now does.

We do not propose tc offer our readers any special advice as
to the method of attack, which will naturally vary with different
batsmen. Experience and observation will suggest what may
be done, if we can only teach our young bowler to bowl straight,
to vary his length, and as he gets older his pace, and if nature
has given him strength, and a happy genius enables him to make
the ball turn more or less at will. Let us leave the bowler
himself, and see if we can offer any hints on providing him
with a good field.

It is a common fallacy to suppose that anyone can field
well if he takes the trouble to do so. With this we cannot
agree; but we feel strongly that most cricketers might improve
themselves very much in this department if they took the same
pains they do to improve their batting.

But we must return to our small boys. First of all, let us
teach them to catch by throwing the ball from one to another,
and let the ball be small, proportioned to the size of their hands.
Teach them to take the catch opposite the upper part of the
chest, when they can get to it in that position, and to draw
their hands back as the ball comes into them. Do not keep
them too long at this, or they will find it irksome. Vary with a
little ground fielding, but do not let them throw too often or
too far, or their arms will soon go, and you will ruin your bowlers
and your throwers as well. It is not, however, at this early age
that the most special attention ought to be given to fielding.
It is rather at our public schools that we here look for improve-
ment; this is the time at which we think most may be done. As a
boy gains strength and activity he gains two of the qualities most
necessary for a good fieldsman, andif nature has given himagood
big pair of hands and the power of throwing, it will be owing to
his laziness if he does not become a valuable aid to any bowler.
We might dwell on the necessity of keenness, watchfulness in
the field, position for starting, and many other essentials, but we
have said enough for practical purposes ; all else will be easily

ART OF TRAINING YOUNG CRICKETERS. 385

learnt by a boy who has the energy and determination to train
himself into a good field.

It will be noticed that in our suggestions to the batsman we
have not advised him to make that use of his legs in defending
his wicket which now finds such favour with our leading
players. We confess to regarding this as an ignoble art; but we
admit that if the l.b.w. rule is to continue as at present, the art,
ignoble as it is, must be taught in self-defence, or our pupils
will necessarily be handicapped in being expected to stop balls
which break and turn with their bat instead of with their legs.
Fortunately age will relieve us personally of teaching how this
may best be done. It is for the rising generation either to
alter the law or to learn the art of getting in front of the wicket
when the ball does not pitch straight.

It is in vain to lament over long scores and unfinished
matches, over dearth of bowlers and slackness in the field,
whilst all the time we are doing everything we can to make
matters easier and easier for the batsman, giving him perfect
wickets, on which he can score 100 runs without getting out of
breath, devoting his legs to the new purpose of systematical 1 y
intercepting the more difficult balls. How different this from
having honestly to run out every hit, and from being compelled
to play a real 'snorter ' before the breath is fairly recovered after
the effort of running several fourers in succession !

c c

3 86 CRICKET.

CHAPTER XIV.

SINGLE WICKET.

(By the Hon. R. H. Lyttelton.)

It is necessary in any work which professes to treat of ciicket
generally, that the laws and regulations of single wicket should
be discussed, though the subject is not of much importance
in these days; for, as far as first-class cricket is concerned, the
game played with only one wicket has vanished altogether.
Some few years ago, if an ordinary three-day match were over
early, a scratch single-wicket match was sometimes improvised ;
but the effect was generally depressing.

Few people now take the trouble to read through the rules
which govern single-wicket matches, and the almost total
disappearance of such games may be mainly attributed to
two circumstances : (i) The great increase in the number of
three-day matches ; (2) the diminution in the number of fast
bowlers.

In the days of Alfred Mynn and Fuller Pilch matches
practically never took more than two days, and first-class con-
tests were in number about one-half what they are at present.
A professional of the front rank, such as Lohmann or Barnes,
nosv has to play two matches a week, and if a match is over on
the second day, he is only too glad to have a rest before
beginning again elsewhere, it may be more than a hundred
miles away. The public also have the opportunity of seeing
such a quantity of first-class play, that there is no demand
for single-wicket matches.

In the second place, the rules of single- wicket cricket make it

SINGLE WICKET. 387

essential that driving in front of the wicket must be the staple
stroke of the batsman, and for this reason, because the second
rule provides that, to entitle the striker to a run, the ball must
be hit before the bounds. Now the bounds are placed twenty-two
yards each in a line from the off and leg stump, and there
must be bounds unless there are more than four players on
each side. The third rule compels the striker at the moment
of hitting the ball to have one of his feet behind the popping
crease and on the ground. These two laws contain the essence
of the game of cricket as played with a single wicket. It is
not sound cricket to play any bowling that may be called slow in
the widest sense of the term with your right foot absolutely
fixed. In the chapter on Batting the young player is advised to
go out of his ground to slow bowling of a certain length and
drive. But at single wicket the batsman may not move even
an inch in front of the popping crease, to get a lob, for instance,
on the full pitch. So the effect of bowling slows in a single-
wicket match is that a batsman must abandon what may be
called the orthodox and correct method of play, and merely
wait till he gets a ball far enough up for him to drive it without
getting out of his ground.

No correct player can ever drive slows, unless they are right
up, without going out of his ground, and a great many would
be so cramped that they would be at a disadvantage altogether,
and obliged to play an ugly pokey game. If a slow bowler with
perhaps two or three fields were bowling to Mr. Webbe, who
plays slows as well as anybody in England, that gentleman
would find himself obliged to abandon his natural game, stand
still, watch the ball carefully, and play it gently, till he got a
real half-volley or outrageous long-hop, off which he could
score. But if certain skilful bowlers were on, the batsman
would very likely have to wait the best part of an hour before
such a ball came ; and it would be sadly dull to watch such a
game.

If five play on a side bounds are abolished, the slow
bowling may get hit behind the wicket, and so the game be-

383 CRICKET.

comes considerably livelier. The run consists of touching the
bowler's stump with the bat and getting back to the popping
crease. Thus one run at single wicket is exactly equivalent to
two at double wicket. To get three runs in one hit if there
are two fields is almost an impossibility, though it has been
done. There is no wicket-keeper, and nothing can be scored
by byes, leg-byes, or overthrows. To run a man out, it is
necessary that the bowler run to the wicket and put it down,
unless of course it is thrown down. The fieldsman must return
the ball so that it shall cross the ground between the wicket
and the bowling stump, or between the bowling stump and the
bounds ; and three are scored for a lost ball.

In very ancient times five players a side used often to con-
tend at single wicket, and in this sort of match there are no
bounds, though the batsman must have his right or left foot on
the ground behind the popping crease when the ball is hit.

Single-wicket matches were once very common. Indeed,
during the last century they were played nearly as often as
double- wicket games, and we will briefly notice some of the
most famous.

In the year 1772 five of Kent with Minshull beat five of
the famous Hambledon Club by one wicket, but in 1773 the
same five men of Hambledon vanquished five men of Eng-
land. Happy village of Hambledon that could thus defeat AH
England, a deed that at double wicket no county could ac-
complish now ! With the redoubtable Lumpy given, the same
village in 1781 beat England by 78 runs, five players on a side.
In the following year six of Hambledon beat six of Kent,
and the Duke of Dorset, Privy Councillor, Knight of the
Garter, and Lord Steward of the King's Household, played for
the village against his own county, for what reason history
telleth not. John Nyren says that this nobleman 'had the
peculiar habit, when unemployed, of standing with his head on
one side.' He is also celebrated in verse :

Equalled by few he plays with glee,
Nor peevish seeks for victory.

SINGLE WICKET. 389

His Grace for bowling cannot yield
To none but Lumpy in the field.
And far unlike the modern way
Of blocking every ball at play,
He firmly stands with bat upright
And strikes with his athletic might,
Sends forth the ball across the mead,
And scores six notches for the deed.

The Duke must have been the first who conceived the idea
of international cricket; for while ambassador in France he
wrote to Golden, of Chertsey, to form an eleven to play at Paris,
Unfortunately, when they had got as far as Dover, they met
his Grace, who had to flee the faithless Frenchmen in conse-
sequence of a revolution, and the match was abandoned.

Six of Hambledon again beat six of England in 1783, but
six of Kent defeated the village in 1786. This was a famous
match, though seeing T. Walker batting for nearly five hours
for 26 runs must have been a trifle monotonous. A Kent
player named Ring went in when 59 runs were wanted to win
and two more wickets to go down. He made 15 overnight, and
Sir Horace Mann promised him a pension if he carried out his
bat, and, we presume, won the match. He failed to do so, but
got out when 2 runs were wanted. Aylward then went in and
played 94 balls before he made the winning hit. We hope
Sir Horace Mann gave the pension to Ring, for he must have
deserved it.

Six of Hampshire twice beat England in 1788, and in 1789
a drawn match was played between six of Kent and six of
Hants. In this match betting at the start was 5 to 4 on Hants,
but David Harris was seized with the gout, and the betting,
therefore, stood at 5 to 4 on Kent. David Harris used some-
times to walk to the ground on crutches, but bowled splendidly,
we are told, when he got warm.

In 1806, three of Surrey — William Lambert, Robinson, and
William Beldham — beat three of England — Bennett, Fennex,
and Lord F. Beauclerk — by 20 runs. This was the famous

390 CRICKET.

match whe,n Beldham, father of thirty-nine children — none, so
far as we know, cricketers — took a lump of wet dirt and saw-
dust, and stuck it on to the ball, which developed an extra-
ordinary twist and bowled Lord Frederick out. His lordship
was of an irritable disposition, and must have been very angry
at this, for he had made 30 runs and was well set.

In 1 8 14, Osbaldeston, Budd, and Lord F. Beauclerk beat
three of England — Sherman, T. C. Howard, and Lambert. The
famous Squire Osbaldeston clean bowled all his rivals in
each innings for 1 9 runs only. The Squire, whose reputation
as an all-round sportsman still survives, was the fastest bowler
of his day. In 18 18, so great was his fame and that of Lambert,
that they challenged Budd, Humewood, T. C. Howard, and
George Brown; but the four won in one innings, which so pro-
voked the Squire that he withdrew from the M.C.C. — another
irritable man.

The celebrated William Lambert alone beat two accom-
plished cricketers, Lord F. Beauclerk and Howard, by 15 runs.
The Squire was too ill to play, so Lambert played them both,
and drew the stakes, 100/. Up to 1827, wides counted for
nothing, and Lambert bowled wides on purpose to Lord F
Beauclerk to put him out cf temper. They were a choleric
race in those days. The fame of Lambert is tarnished for selling
a match at Nottingham, and he was warned off the ground at
Lord's for ever.

Mr. Budd in 1820 played a fast bowler called Brand, the
match ending most disastrously for the latter. Mr. Budd went
in first, got 70 runs, knocked his wicket down on purpose,
and bowled his opponent out for o. Budd then got 31, again
knocked his wicket down, and again bowled his rival out for
nothing. Mr. Brand ended his days in a lunatic asylum ; we
hope the malady was not brought on by this match, which was
got up by Mr. Ward, who backed Mr. Brand.

The two brothers Broadbridge, one of whom was called
1 our Jem,' beat George Brown and Tom Marsden of Sheffield
in 1827, but were beaten in the return match. In 1832 Alfred

SINGLE WICKET. 39*

Mynn played his first important single-wicket match against
Thomas Hills, Mynn winning with his wicket standing. Hills
said that Mynn bowled at least 50 wides, which seems to prove
that the chief bowlers of that day must have been slightly
deficient in accuracy. Why in this match the wides were not
reckoned is not clear, the rule scoring against the bowlei
having been put in force some few years before. A return
match was played, and Mynn again won, this time in one
innings, and Hills retired, satisfied, we suppose, that in Mynn
he had found his master.

In 1833 Mynn and Pilch were perhaps the two greatest all-
round players, and Marsden of Sheffield in this year challenged
the immortal Pilch, who won in one innings and 70 runs.
Pilch was not a great bowler, neither was he fast, but Marsden's
style was fast underhand, and Pilch's bat was too straight
for such bowling. In the return Pilch got 78 runs in the first
innings and 100 in the second, and won the match by 127
runs. The supremacy of Pilch over Marsden was fully asserted
by these two matches, and Marsden must have returned to
Sheffield somewhat crestfallen.

Next Marsden may come, though it here must be stated
That his skill down at Sheffield is oft overrated.

But the Yorkshiremen, we know, are always proud of their
countrymen. Pilch was a great batsman, and we do not feel
surprised that he scored so largely against fast underhand
bowling.

The ground ought to have been now cleared for a match
between Mynn and Pilch, and great would have been the
interest if such a game had been played— Voltigeur and The
Flying Dutchman would have been nothing to it. The two
men belonged to the same county, so probably there was wanting
a sufficient motive ; but together they would probably have
beaten any three other cricketers.

Mr. Mynn next heavily defeated James Dearman of Sheffield
twice, in the first match by 112 runs, and again in one innings

392 CRICKET.

and 36 runs. Mynn scored 46 in the last innings off 46 hits,
which sounds strange, but then, as is recorded naively in the
* Scores and Biographies,' Mynn was always a great punisher.

Mr. Felix next challenged Mr. Mynn, and he must have
been of a sanguine temperament to have done so ; for, though
perhaps a better bat than Mynn, he was a left-handed lob
bowler, a delivery not suited for single-wicket matches. The
first game Mynn won in one innings and 1 run, only 9 runs
being made in the whole match. In Felix's second innings
Mynn bowled 247 balls for 3 runs. Single- wicket matches
had already begun to get out of favour ; this was the most im-
portant that had taken place for some time, and Squire Osbal-
deston was a spectator. In the return Mynn won by one wicket,
and this was a small scoring match. Mynn now was left un-
challenged, having won all the single-wicket matches in which
he was engaged alone. In 1847 Wisden beat Sherman twice.
Thomas Hunt of Chesterfield was a great single-wicket match-
player, and beat Chatterton, Dakin, Charley Brown, and R. C.
Tinley.

Single-wicket playing has been practically dead since 1850,
though Hayward, Carpenter, and Tarrant played two matches
about the year 1862. The subject possesses only an historical
interest now, but in old times it created enormous excitement,
and no doubt the pride of the men of Kent in Alfred Mynn
was largely owing to his single-wicket prowess. If such
matches were played on the smooth wickets of modern times,
the fortunate man who won the toss might never be got out
all day, and the game would become a burlesque on cricket.
Eleven fieldsmen, and not one bowler merely, are now re-
quired to get out Mr. Grace and Shrewsbury, and but few
wickets are bowled down as compared with the days of fast
bowling and rough grounds. When the All England elevens
used to tour about the country under the management first of
William Clarke and then of George Parr, some of the best
bowlers in England were to be found in their ranks. Jackson,
VVillsher, Furley, Tarrant, and others used often to play, and

SINGLE WICKET. 393

occasionally when the regular match was over one of them
would earn a cheap sort of notoriety by challenging eleven of
the natives at single wicket. Eleven straight balls were some-
times found sufficient to get the eleven out, and one run by
the England player gave him the victory. Such matches are
absurd, and it is not a matter of regret that they are played
no longer.

However, it seems right that a notice of the famous contests
of old should have been written, on account of the interest they
formerly excited, and on village greens, where eccentricities of
ground are to be met with, they may still perhaps be played.
But they are a relic of the past.

DD

INDEX

AM A

Amateur, M. C. C. definition
of an, 356

Australians, the, 74, 88, 188,
189, 207, 215, 258, 259, 273,
276, 285 ; first matches with
English teams in Australia,
313, 322 ; first match in
England, 314; character of
Gregory's eleven, 314 ; stimu-
lating effect of rivalry on
English cricket, 315 ; doings
of Murdoch's teams in 1880,
1882, and 1884, 315-318 ;
visit of Scott's eleven in
1886, 318; McDonnell's 1888
team, 319 ; Murdoch again
captain in 1890, 320 ; the
eighth team (1893), 321 ;
Trott's eleven (1896), 321 ;
Giffen, 322 ; leading batting
and bowling averages in test
matches with England, 324,
325 ; Spofforth, 325 ; reasons
for excellence of their bowl-
ing, 326 ; cup contests, 326

Authorities and literature cited :
— Ancient Cities of the New
World (De Charnay's), 2 ; A
Pleasant Grove of New Fan-
cies, 3 ; Bell's Life, 274 ;
Bentley's Cricket -Scores,
25 ; Brand's Popular Anti-
quities, 3, 4 ; Byron, 10 ;
Chapman's Odyssey, 2, 3 ;
Chesterfield, Lord, 9 ; Clarke,
Charles Cowden, 17 ; Consti-

AUT

tution Book of Guildford, 6,
7 ; Contesdu Roi Gambrinus,
6 ; Cotgrave's French and
English Dictionary, 5, 6 ;
Cowper, 10 ; Durfey's Pills
to purge Melancholy, 3 ;
English Game cf Cricket
(Box's), 11 ; Evans, Arthur,
I ; Florio's Italian Dictionary,
6 ; Gentleman's Magazine,
1 1 ; Gray, 9 ; Grimston, Hon.
Robert, 39, 364 ; Herrick's
Hesperides, 3 ; History of
Guildford, 6 ; Huddesford's
Salmagundi, 10 ; Huddesford's
Wiccamical Chaplet, 10 ;
Jamieson's Scotch Dictionary,
4 ; Jerks in from Short-leg
(Fitzgerald's), 28, 263, 267 ;
Johnson, Dr., 3, 9 ; Juvenile
Sports, 27 ; Knight, 22 ; Life
of the Scotch Rogue, 4 ; Lilly-
white's Annual, 245 ; Lilly-
white's Scores and Biogra-
phies, 28, 35, 358 ; Lincoln,
Bishop of, 26 ; Longman's
Magazine, 153, 154 ; Love's
Cricket, 12, 15 ; Lyttelton,
Hon. E., 245 ; Mitford's Our
Village, 283 ; Murray's Eng-
lish Dictionary, 5 ; Nyren's
Cricketer's Guide, 12, 16, 19,
21, 25, 388 ; Pinder, George,
252 ; Piozzi, Mrs. , 1 ; Pope,
9, 31 ; Proctor, R. A., 153 ;
Prowse, 297 ; Punch, 31 ;
D D 2

39*

CRICKET.

BAL

BAT

Pycroft's Cricket Field, 12,
23, 25, 43, 155, 156, 359;
Rambler, 5 ; St. Andrews,
Bishop of, 12, 23, 26, 329 ;
Scott, Sir Walter, 294 ;
Skeat's Etymological Dic-
tionary, 5 ; Sketches of the
Players (Denison's), 21 ;
the Sporting Magazine, 21 ;
Strutt's Sports and Pastimes,
3-5 ; Teonge, Henry, 8 ;
Todd's Johnson, 5 ; Tom and
Jerry, 281 ; Walker, John,
277 ; Walpole, Horace, 9 ;
Ward, Rev. Arthur, 313 ;
Zola's Germinal, 6

Balls, 195

Barre, tennis-player, 246
Base-ball, 2, 3, 153
Bats, 36, 41, 42

Batsmen, past and present, ama-
teur and professional : —

Abel, 69, 74, 100, 215, 321

Absalom, C. A., 91

Aislabie, 28

Almond, H. H., 32

Anderson, 370

Ash, E. P., 40

Aylward, 16, 24, 389

Bagge, T. E., 370

Baldwin, 100

Balfour, Leslie, 32

Bannerman, A. C, 145, 316,

317, 32i
Bannerman, C, 170, 313, 315
Barlow, R. G., 90
Barnes, 68, 358
Bates, 358, 373
Beagley, 36, 359, 360
Beauclerk, Lord F., 20, 23,

24, 36, 359, 360, 389, 390
Beldham, William, 20, 23-25,

35, 36, 389 .
Bennett, 389
Bentley, 36
Bligh, Hon. Ivo, 32, 170,

241, 273
Board, 38
Bonnor, G. J., 74, 77, 86,

148, 207, 316, 317
Briggs, 88, 357, 358

Batsmen {cont.) :

Broadbridge, James, 36, 390

Brockwell, 321

Brown, Charley, 392

Brown, G., 390

Bruce, W., 179, 318, 321

Bryan, 15

Buchanan, 356

Budd, 20, 36, 359, 360, 390

Buller, C. F., 37, 49, 212

Burbidge, 37

Burgoyne, 68

Burn, 320

Caesar, Julius, 37

Caffyn, 37, 365

Carpenter, 37, 39, 40, 54, 64,

366, 369, 370, 392
Chalmers, 32
Champain, 38
Charlton, 320
Chatterton, 392
Cheyne, Arthur, 32
Cobham, Lord, 64, 355
Cooper, 37
Daft, Richard, 37, 38, 39, 40,

67, 100, 358, 369, 370
Dakin, 392
Dalkeith, Lord, 295
Darling, 179, 322, 323
Dearman, James, 391
Dickens, Major, 32
Donnan, 69, 322
Douglas, John, 295
Drake, 369
Druce, 323
Emmett, 310
Evans, A. H., 240
Evans, E., 318
Felix, 36, 37, 359, 362, 392
Fennex, William, 25, 36, 389
Flowers, 373
Ford, F. G. J., 53, 56, 73,

86, 179
Forman, William, 297
Freeman tie, 21
Fryer, F. E. R., 43
Fuller Pilch, 17, 25, 26, 36,

43, 49, 79, 156, 363> 305,

386, 391
Giffen, G., 74, 148, 207, 316,

317, 321, 322, 324
Golden, 389

INDEX.

397

BAT

Batsmen {cont. ) :

Grace, E.M., 51, 278

Grace, G. F., 301, 373

Grace, W. G., 36, 37, 38, 40,
43, 44, 52, 54, 56, 58, 64-
66, 73>%i, 8 5, 86 , 90, 97,
98, 117, 130, 148, 164,
183, 196, 212, 213, 214,
216, 254, 262, 263, 267,
278,3i3-3 I 5>32i,324,344,
363,369,371-374,376,392

Graham, 321

Green, C. E., 309

Greenwood, Luke, 310

Gregory, 314, 315, 320-323

Grey, jack, 297

Griffith, 37

Grundy, 67, 365, 372

Gunn, 60, 62, 63, 93, 100,
188,213,215,286,321,358

Guy, Joseph, 37, 365

Hall, Louis, 83, 101, 145,343

Hankey, 37, 38, 359, 366, 369

Harris, Lord, 212, 306

Hay Brown, 32

Haygarth, 369

Hay ward, 26, 37, 38, 40, 215,
227, 323, 366, 370, 392

Hearne, George, 100

Hearne, Tom, 37, 67

Henderson, E., 32

Hewett, H. T., 179

Hill, Clement, 179, 322-324

Hills, Thomas, 391

Hooker, W., 36

Horan, 170, 3*5-317

Hornby, A. N., 43, 183,314

Howard, T. C., 390

Hume wood, 390

Humphrey, Richard, 290

Humphrey, Tom, 26, 37, 40

Hunt, Thomas, 392

Iddison, Roger, 263, 310

Iredale, F. A., 322, 323, 324

Jackson, F. S., 40, 85, 214,
215, 321, 354

Jessop, 38, 74, 86

Jones, George, 74

Jones, T. B., 275

Jones, S. P., 316

Jupp, 26

Kempson, 359, 366

BAT

Batsmen {cont.) :

Key, K. J., 61, 64, 254, 263

King, R. T., 275, 277, 278

Lambert, W., 25, 36, 389, 390

Lane, 369

Lane, C. G., 37

Law, W., 274, 275

Lear, George, 17

Leslie, C. F. H., 239, 240

Lillywhite, James, 313

Lillywhite, W., 365

Lockwood, 213, 357

Lockyer, Tom, 370

Long, R. P., 364

Lubbock, 37

Lucas, A. P., 66, 196, 373

Lucas, F. M., 179

Lyons, 77, 86, 321

Lyttehon, Hon. A., 92, 373

Lyttelton, Hon. C. G. (now

Lord), 37, 40, 64, 371
Lyttelton, Hon. E., 189
McDonnell, P. S., 74, 148,

207, 262,263,317-319,322
Mcllwraith, J., 318
Mackenzie, Jack, 32
McLaren, 85, 215, 323, 324,

363
Maitland, 37
Makinson, 370, 371
Marsden, 37, 391
Marshall, R. T., 295
Marshall, Tom, 32
Massie, H. H., 74, 148, 316,

317
Maul r H. C., 56
Mitchell, R. A. H., 37, 40,

62, 64, 370, 371
Mortlock, 37, 268
Moses, 179
- Moule, W. H., 316

Murdoch, W. L., 158, 170,

1^9, 315-320, 324
Mynn, A., 37, 361, 362, 363,

391, 392
Newland, 15
Nichols, 100
Norman, F. H., 37
O'Brien, 61, 86
Osbaldeston, 36, 390, 392
Painter, 101
Palairet, L. C. H., 72, 85

398

CRICKET.

BAT

BAT

Batsmen {cont. ) :
Palmer, G. E., 316
Parr, George, 37, 40, 62, 63,

65, 66, 227, 256, 313, 362,

363, 3 6 5-37i, 392
Patterson, 66, 373
Pauncefote, B., 56
Peel, 88, 179, 213
Penn, Frank, 46
Philipson, 321
Pilling, 212

Pinder, George, 277, 310
Quaife, W., 100
Quaife, W. G., 100
Ranjitsinhji, K. S., 47, 85,

215, 323, 324
Read, W. W., 40, 117, 213,

214, 318
Ridley, A. W., 212
Robinson, Tom, 389
Rotherham, 373
Rumney, 15
Saunders, 36

Scott, H. J. H., 163, 317, 318
Scott, Hon. J.M., 32, 296, 298
Scott, Lord George, 32, 296
Scotton, W., 179, 358
Searle, 36
Selby, 358
Sherman, 390, 392
Shrewsbury, Arthur, 54, 56,

60, 73, 76, 77, 78, 83, 100,

188, 196, 212, 213, 324,

343, 358, 373, 376, 392
Small, John, 17
Smart, Charles, 281
Smith, 15
Steel, A. G., 32, 56, 73, 76,

78, 86, 324, 376
Steel, D. Q., 66
Stephenson, 37, 313, 370, 371
Stoddart, A. E., 40, 53, 196,

213, 215,321-325,327,376
Storer, 321, 333
Sueter, Tom, 17, 24
Sugg, ico
Tarrant, 392

Taylor, C. G., 37, 362-364
Thornton, C. I., 77
Tinley, R. C., 392
Townsend, 38
Trott, 189, 322, 323

Batsmen {cont. ) :

Trumble, J. W., 318
Tufton, Hon. H., 359
Tufton, Hon. T., 359
Tunnicliffe, 100
Ulyett, G., 148
Wakley, Billy, 281
Walker, J., 277, 370
Walker, T. , 20, 2 1 , 24, 47, 389
Walker, V. E., 37
Walters, 320
Ward, A., 100, 215
Ward, W., 16, 23,26, 31,36,

390
Watson, Charles, 281
Webbe, A. J., 43, 314, 387
Wenman, E. G., 37
Wisden, 392
Wootton, 101, 310, 372
Wyer, Michael Russell, 296
Yard ley, W., 43, 56
{See also tinder University
, Cricketers)

Batting, art of, 34 ; shape of
Dat > 35, 36 5 choice of bat,
41 ; rules for the guidance
of batsmen, 41 ; position at
wicket, 42-46; Fuller Pilch
as a model batsman, 36, 43 ;
W. G. Grace's attitude, 44 ;
manner of holding the bat,
45 ; playing fast bowling, 46 ;
position of right foot, 46, 54,
65, 302 ; pulling a straight
fast ball to leg, 47 ; correct
pose of left shoulder and
elbow, 48, 54, 71 ; what to
do when the ball is well out-
side off stump, 48 ; forward
play, 48 ; how to meet
shooters, 50; tactics when
playing and unable to smother
the ball at the pitch, 51 ; half-
cock stroke, 51 ; back play,

39, 53 J dealing with a very
short ball, 54 ; easy wickets,
56 ; the hanging ball, 57 :
the yorker, 57, 129, 130 ;
offensive tactics, 58; the cut,

40, 42, 59 ; weak-wristed
players' cutting, 61 ; the leg-
hit, 62 ; hit to square-leg, 39,

INDEX.

399

EAT

BOW

63 ; pushing, 64 ; the glide, 65 ;
playing a ball on the legs that
is not short enough to play
back to, 66 ; the • draw,'
67 ; snicking a ball off leg-
stump, 67 ; forcing stroke off
the legs, 68 ; off-drive to
coverpcint and right hand of
point, 68 ; off balls, 69 ; half-
volley on off side, 71 ; the
hard drive, 72 ; half-volley
on on side, 72 ; play to fast
bowling on soft tricky wickets,
73 ; hitting on difficult
wickets, 74 ; play to slow
bowling, 75 ; running out to
drive, 76 ; dealing with balls
that are well outside the off
stump, 78 ; playing lobs, 78 ;
the pat, 79 ; how to meet fast
or medium-pace balls on soft
wickets, 81 ; running, 83 ;
imitation of great players,
85 ; temperament, 86 ; ner-
vousness, 87 ; rules of health,
88 ; sleep, 88 ; over-eating,

88 ; superstitions of players,

89 ; number of ways of getting
out, 89, 91 ; hitting twice,

90 ; picking up the ball while
in ' play,' 90 ; obstructing
the field, 90 ; rule for playing
off breaks of all paces, 117;
timidity with balls on off side,
132; pokey batsman dealing
with high-dropping full-pitch
ball, 139 ; when wicket soft-
ened by overnight rainfall,
142 ; mistakes made about the
state of the wicket, 146 ; deal-
ing with left-handed bowlers,
149 ; left-handed batsmen,
178; W. G. Grace's counsel
on how to score, 299-312.
{See also under Bowling)

Betting, 102

Border cricket, 292 ; character
of wicket, 292 ; trop de zele,
294 ; patriotic partiality of
umpires, 293 ; playing for
victory rather than cricket,
294 ; surroundings of grounds,

294 ; batting and bowling,

295 ; • Les Enfants Perdus,'
295 ; ' Eccentric Flamingoes,'
295 ; T. R. Marshall, 295 ;
pleasant reminiscences, 296 ;

- at the present day, 297 ;

umpiring, 298
Border Cup, 298
Bowlers, past and present, ama-
teur and professional : —

Absolom, 285

Allan, 152, 153, 314, 325

Appleby, 97, 178

Atkinson, 277

Attewell, 48, 88, 149, 212,

215
Barclay, 23, 24, 32
Barker, Tom, 37
Barnes, 358, 373, 3S6
Barrett, 320
Bates, 207, 258
Bathurst, Sir F., 37, 362,

364, 366, 373
Bean, 357
Beauclerk, Lord F., 23, 24,

359, 389
Eeldham, 359, 390
Bennett, George, 39, 76
Bland, 122
Bonnor, 172
Bowley, 160
Box, Tom, 276
Boyle, Cecil, 23
Boyle, H. F., 258, 314, 315,

316, 317, 325
Brand, 390

Brett, Thomas, 17, 23, 24
Briggs, 73, 75, 88, 100, 147,

149, 151, 152, 169, 211,

215, 321, 325, 357, 358
Broadbridge, James, 21, 22,

35, 365
Brown, 357
Brown, George, 365
Browne, 23
Bruce, W., 321
Buchanan, David, 38, 97, 132,

151

Budd, E. H., 26, 35
Bull, 97, 215
Bunch, 181
Butler, 161

4oo

CRICKET.

BOW

BOW

Bowlers {cont.) :
Caffyn, W., 357 *-
Carpenter, 26, 227
Christopherson, S., 160
Clarke, William, 23, 37, 75,

79, I54-I57,362,363,365»

366, 392
Cobbett, 37, 360, 361
Cooper, W. H., 108
Crossland, 160
Cunliffe, 76, 97, 161
Cuttell, 122, 161
Davidson, 88, 122, 161
Dean, 366
Dryden, Billy, 297
Emmett, Tom, 88, 101, 134,

166, 168, 178, 275, 277,

309, 318
Evans, 74, 135, 161, 325, 373
Felix, 365

Fellows, Harvey, 24, 364, 366
Ferris, J. J., 319, 320, 325
Flowers, 212, 373
Forbes, 172
Ford, A. F. J., 239
Francis, 161
Freeman, 24, 39, 161, 277, 309

310
Fuller Pilch, 361, 365, 391
Furley, 392
Game, 172, 275
Garrett, T. W., 74, 277,

ZH-Z l 7> 325
Giffen, G., 73, 167, 168,

316, 317, 321, 322, 325
Glassford, Clement, 32, 297
Grace, W. G., 97, 153, 168,

169, 213
Grant, Hope, 24
Greenwood, Luke, 372
Hall, Harry, 25
Hammond, 359
Harris, D., 19-21, 24, 358,

389
Harrison, 160
Hartley, 59
Hearne, A., 59, 116, 122,

212, 215
Hearne, J. T., 161, 325
Hide, J. 357

Hill, Allan, 160, 277, 358
Hillyer, 37, 75, 362, 365

Bowlers {cont.) :
Hirst, 88, 122, 215
Hodgson, 31
Hodswell, 16
Horan, 315, 316
Howard, T. C, 360
Howell, 323, 325
Humphreys, 154, 156, 321
Jackson, 24, 31, 39, 54, 76,

97, 161, 369, 370, 392
Jephson, 154

Jessop, 38, 59, 74, 76, 97, 161
Jones, 59, 174, 322, 323, 325
Kempson, 366, 373
Kendall, Tom, 152
Knight, G., 21, 22
Kortright, 76, 97, 161
Lambert, 17, 18, 23, 359
Lang, R., 24, 268, 274
Leslie, G F. H., 170
Lilly white, James, 81, 313
Lilly white, John, 301, 369
Lilly white, W., 17, 21, 22,

35,37,43,75,276,360-365
Lockwood, 116, 211, 212,

213, 321, 357, 358
Lohmann, 174, 212, 325, 386
Lumpy (Stevens), 12, 18, 24,

388
Lyttelton, Hon. A., 318
Mann, Noah, 18, 358
Marcon, 24
Marsden T. , 390, 391
Marsham, C. D., 369, 370
Martingell, 63, 112, 366
Mathews, 360
McDonnell, P. S., 316
Mclntyre, Martin, 81
McKibbin, 174, 322
McLeod, R., 321, 323
Midwinter, 315, 317
Miles, Planner, 280
Minshull, 388
Mold, 116, 122, 161, 164,

211, 212, 213
Morley, Fred., 81, 82, 166,

174,205,262,314,358,373
Morton, 161
Mynn, Alfred, 22-24, 26, 37,

75,275, 276,360,361,362,

364, 365, 366, 386, 391
Noble, 323, 325

INDEX.

401

BOW

BOW

Bowlers (con/.) :
Nyren, Richard, 17
Osbaldeston, 23, 390
Palmer, 74, 105, 121, 151,

164, 168, 174, 258, 276,

277, 317, 325
Payne, 369
Peate, 38, 81, 100, 147, 151,

168, 276, 318, 373
Peel, 75, 88, 149, 151, 211,

213,215, 325
Powys, 24, 161, 268
Rawlin, 88

Redgate, 37, 75, 275, 361
Richardson, 39, 76, 81, 116,

122, 161, 174, 215, 325
Ridley, A. W., 154, 156,212,

270, 274, 275, 314
Rotherham, A., 160, 164, 373
Rotherham, H., 160
Saunders, 21
Searle, 21
Shaw, Alfred, 38, 76, 81, 82,

100,115,121,131,147,205,

212,289, 309,314,364, 372
Shaw, J. C, 152, 289/301,

358

Shrewsbury, 271

Silcock, 112

Sinclair, 32

Slinn, 31

Smith, 373

Southerton, 81, 115, 276

Spofforth, 23, 98, 120, 121,
133, 134, 148, 149, 162,
164, 167, 172, 174, 185,
189, 241, 258, 268, 277,
310,314-317,324,325,374

Steel, 373

Stephenson, 369

Stratford, 108

Streatfeild, 97

Studd, 97

Tarrant, 24, 54, 161, 370,
371, 392

Taylor, 366

Thewlis, 358

Thornton, C, I., 181

Tinley, 31, 156

Toppin, C, 160

Trott, 59, 189, 321, 323

Trumble, H., 320-323, 325

Bowlers (con/.) :

Turner, C. T. B., 120, 149,

174, 3!9, 320-322, 325, 326
Tylecote, 170
Tyler, 38, 75, 147, 276
Ulyett, 160, 277, 373-
Vigne, 360
Wainwright, 59, 88, 147, 212,

213, 215
Walker, T., 19,22,24,35,359
Walker, y. E., 156
Ward, A., 215
Watson, 100, 373
Wells, C. M., 97, 212
Wenman, 361, 365, 366
Wheeler, 357
Whitby, 160
Willes, 19, 21, 22, 96
Willsher, 23, 369-371, 392
Wilson, 97
Wisden, 365, 369
Wood, J. B., 156
Woods, S. M. J., 76,97, 161,

164, 373
Wootton, 309
Wright, W., 100, 101, 178,

,357
\onge, George, 364
(See also under University
Cricketers)
Bowling, art of, 94 ; present
contrasted with past, 95 ; fall-
ing off in amateur, 97 ; at the
public schools, 97, 98 ; the
professional bowler, 98-102,
357 ; object of the bowler,
102 ; the four motions of the
ball and their intention, 103 ;
the spin from right to left, or
leg-break, 104-113 ; placing
fieldsmen for leg-break balls,
107 ; rotary motion of ball
from left to right, or off break,
J 13 ; what becomes of likely
balls if not well played, 114 ;
break-back, 115, 117, 138;
fast off break, 116; playing
off breaks, 117 ; upward ver-
tical spin, 118; downward
vertical spin, 118; combina-
tions of spin, 119 ; change of
pace, 1 1 9-1 2 1 ; high delivery,

402

CRICKET.

BOW

122 ; advantages of slow de-
livery, 122-127 ; two excep-
tions to putting on slows, 124 ;
yorkers, 128, 164 ; leg half-
volleys, 131 ; good-length ball
outside off stump, 131 ; bowl-
ing player off his legs, 133 ;
from different distances, 134 ;
choice of ends, by the slow
bowler, 135 ; taking advan-
tage of peculiarities of time
and ground, 136; avoidance
of singularity of dress or man-
ner, 137 ; changing from over
to round the wicket, 137;
varieties of full-pitch, 138 ;
high-dropping full-pitch, 138 ;
ordinary slow fuli-pitch, 140 ;
medium-paced full-pitch, 140 ;
how to turn different states of
the ground to advantage, 142 ;
long-hops, 145, 146 ; sodden
wickets, 145 ; the ' cutting
through ' state, 147 ; the dry-
ing state, 147 ; hard and
crumbled wicket, 149 ; left-
handed bowlers, 149-153 ;
balls curling or twisting in
the air, 153, 154 ; under-
hand slows, 154 ; lobs, 156,
209; fast bowling, 158- 167 ;
the off break, 162 ; long run
up to wicket before delivery,
162 ; practising before be-
ginning, 163 ; straight de-
livery, 163 ; value of long
stops, 164 ; leg-stump bowl-
ing, 165 ; bowling over and
round the wicket, 165 ;
getting leg bias on a ball,
166 ; attitude in delivery,
1 66- 1 68 ; 'every cricketer
should bowl,' 170 ; throwing,
1 7 1- 1 75 ; position of field for
fast bowling, 175, 178; dealing
with left-handed bats, 178;
shooters, 180; fast under-arm
bowling, 181 ; sneaks, 181 ;
rules for bowlers in the field,
182- 186; obedience to captain,
182 ; quick return of bowler to
wicket, 183 ; appeals to um-

COU
184 ; shoes,

pires, 1S4; shoes, 184; cut-
ting up the wicket, 184 ; rules
for beginners, 185 ; training
young cricketers, 382. (See
also under Batting)
Buccleuch, Duke of, 292, 297
Bunyan, John, playing at cat, 4

Captains, 191 ; few good, and
those amateurs, 187, 188 ; dif-
ficulties of professional, 188 ;
captaincy of the Australians,
189 ; qualifications for, 189 ;
nervous order, 190 ; apathetic
kind, 190; bowling enthu-
siasts, 190 ; duties of, 191 ;
choice of team, 191, 207 ;
putting the other side in first,
191 ; order of sending men
in, 1 95- 1 97 ; counsel and en-
couragement to players, 198 ;
right of captains to order men
to get out or to bowl wides to
cause or prevent a follow on,
198-203 ; economising time,

203 ; educational hints to
men, 203 ; correcting slovenly
dress, 204 ; duties in field,

204 ; management of the
bowling, 204 ; placing field,
206 ; duties of captains of
University and Public Schools
teams, 207 ; management of

'school elevens, 209 ; enforcing
practice, 210 ; what to drink,
210 ; selection of teams,
211-216; cheerfulness and
watchfulness, 216

Cat-and-dog, 4, 5

Clubs : — All England Eleven,
363 ; Drumpellier, 32 ; Ec-
centric Flamingoes, 295 ;
Free Foresters, 31 ; Hamble-
don, 10, 19, 21, 31,358,388;
I. Z., 31 ; Melbourne, 313 ;
Old Grange, 32 ; Richmond,
12; Vine (Sevenoaks), 11 ;
West of Scotland, 32 ; White
Conduit, 27

Country cricket, 280; a rustic
match in 1830, 280 ; dress of
period, 280 ; paraphernalia

INDEX.

403

CRI

CRI

of the time, 281 ; a common
warlike wind-op of the match,
282 ; modern village cricket,
282 ; training of village lads,
283 ; single wicket, 284 ;
practice before a match, 284 ;
sixpence on the wicket, 285 ;
the thing to ■ burn ' into a young
player's mind, 285 ; getting
and saving runs, 285 ; manage-
ment and finance, 286 ; sub-
scriptions, 286 ; professional
trainers, 284, 286 ; playing
against strong in preference
to weak teams, 2&J ; educat-
ing the rougher element, 287 ;
introduction of the school
element, 288 ; a captain's re-
ward, 288 ; debut of Richard
Humphrey, 289 ; expenses,
290 ; country umpires, 290
Cricket, history of, I ; archee-
ology of the game, 1 ; Strutt
on stool-ball, 3 ; cat-and-dog,
4 ; derivation of the word
' cricket,' 5 ; * Miss Wicket,'
7, 11 ; in Queen Elizabeth's
time, 7, 8 ; costume of
cricketers in 1791, 10 ; the
ball in 1 770, 1 1 ; curved bats,
11, 24; earliest laws, 12;
Mr. Love's poetical effusion,
15 ; a ghost at a cricket
match, 15, note ; Hambledon
the centre of cricket, 17 ;
Nyren's Cricketer's Guide,
16, et seq. ; Lumpy and Noah
Mann, 18 ; David Harris,
19; William Lillywhite, 21,
22 ; Beldham, 25 ; rise of the
Marylebone C. C. , 27 ; M. C. C.
laws, 28 ; origin of Lord's,
27, 28 ; epochs in the history
of the game, 31 ; Scotch
cricket, 32 ; the whole art of
batting, 34-93 ; Fuller Pilch,
36, 43 ; W. G. Grace as a
batsman, 37, 44, et seq. ;
C. G. Lyttelton, Humphrey,
and Ash, 40 ; Robert Car-
penter, 54 ; superstitions
among cricketers, 89 ; scien-

tific bowling, 94-186 ; Willes'
introduction of round-arm
bowling, 96 ; concerning pro-
fessionals, 98-102; danger of
game drifting into a mere
monetary speculation, T02 ;
Spofforth, 120, 133, 324, 325,
374; A. Shaw, 121; Tom
Emmett, 134 ; Peate, 151 ;
David Buchanan, i5i;Briggs,
151 ; Mr. R. A. Proctor on
bowling, 153 ; W. G. Grace
as a bowler, 169 ; anecdote
respecting W. G. Grace and
Briggs, 169 ; bowling in
Australia, 174; the genius
who had discovered how to
bowl shooters, 181 ; captains
and their functions, 187-216 ;
'Pavilion' criticism, 198;
M.C.C. legislation as to
following on and declaring
innings at an end, 202 ;
Morley's geographical attain-
ments, 205 ; selecting repre-
sentative elevens, 211-216 ;
umpires and their duties, 217-
244 ; a primitive match in
Hampshire, 228 ; the umpire
who ' dussn't give him out,'
231 ; the art of fielding, 245-
279 ; country cricket, 28c—
291 ; description of a rustic
match in 1830, 280-282 ; re-
miniscences of Border cricket,
292-298 ; W. G. Grace on
1 How to score,' 299-312 ; the
Australians and their doings,
3 J 3~3 2 7 ; matches of English
with Australian teams, 313—
325 ; reason alleged for excel-
lence of Australian bowling,
325 ; anecdote of a famous
fieldsman, 327 ; the Univer-
sity cricket match, 328-355 ;
Bishop Wordsworth's account
of the first Inter-University
match, 330-333 ; the famous
two-run success of Cambridge
University in 1870, 339 ; the
celebrated six-run victory of
Oxford in 1875, 346 ; the

404

CRICKET.

CRI

GEN

University bowlers, 352 ; en
counters of the Gentleman
and Players, 356-374 ; Alfred
Mynn, 361 ; training young
cricketers, 375-385; single
wicket, 386-393
Cricket-grounds, Australian, 326

Dex, 1

Dorset, Duke of, 388, 389
Dress, 204, 387
Drink, 210

Fielding, 245 ; a safe field, 246;
directions for, 246 ; backing
up, 247 ; throwing, 248 ; deep
field, or country catching,
250; wicket-keeping, 251;
long-leg, 256 ; mid-off and
mid-on, 257 ; cover-point,
259 ; point, 260-262 ; short-
slip, 263 ; third man, 265 ;
short-leg, 266 ; long-stop,
267-270 ; bad, indifferent,
and specious fielding, 271 ;
famous fielders, 272-276 ;
celebrated wicket-keepers,
276 ; young cricketers, 384

Fieldsmen : —
Andrews, 278
Barlow, 170
Bell, F., 278
Bickley, John, 278
Boyle, H. F., 206, 258
Briggs, 278, 325
Burnup, 247
Bury, W., 274, 278
Carpenter, 227, 260, 278
Dench, 365
Diver, A., 268, 278
Douglas, J., 246
Game, 275
Giffen, G., 325
Grace, Dr. E. M., 278
Grace, W. G., 262, 263, 278
Gregory, 278
Gunn, 213, 278, 285
Hartopp, E. S. E., 278
Hildyard, 278
Jones, T. B., 275
King, R. T., 275, 277, 278
Lang, R., 274, 278

Fieldsmen {cont.) :

Law, W., 260, 274, 275
Lubbock, A., 278
Lyttelton, Hon. C. G., 274
Mansfield, Hon. J. W., 278
Marshall, H. M., 268, 274,

278
Moorhouse, 278
Mordaunt, G. J., 260
Mortlock, W., 278
Palairet, 246
Pickering, W., 275, 278
Pilch, W., 278
Read, W. W., 207
Ridley, 274, 275
Royle, 275, 278, 326
Shaw, J. C, 267
Shrewsbury, 212 213
Smith, John, 62, 278
Studd, G. B., 258, 278
Sugg, 246
Taylor, Tosiah, 281
Thewlisj J., 278
Tinley, R. C. 278
Tobin, F. , 268
Wainwright, 247, 278
Walker, J., 277
Walker, V. E., 278
Wright, F. W., 278

Gentlemen and Players,
356 ; defini ion of amateur
and professional, 356 ; Mr.
W. G. Grace's share in the
matches, 371, 372, 373;
supremacy of professionals as
bowlers, 357 ; congestion of
professional skill in certain
districts, 358 ; amateurs, 358 ;
the first match, 359 ; details
of matches played, 360-373 ;
Alfred Mynn, 361 ; the Barn
Door Match or Ward's Folly,
361 ; William Lillywhite, 362,
364 ; William Clarke, 362 ;
the year 1846, 363 ; C. G.
Taylor, 363 ; Fuller Pilch,
365 ; victories of the Players
from 1853 to 1865, 366 ; in
1857, 369 ; victories of the
Gentlemen, 1866-1879, 372 ;
a tie, 373 ; the future, 374

INDEX.

405

GRE

Gregory's Australian team, 314
Grounds:— Bramall Lane, Shef-
field, 271 j Bunswick, Hove,
Brighton, 301 ; Bullingdon
Green, 328 ; Clifton College,
308 ; Cowley Marsh, 328 ;
Eenner's, 339 ; Lascelles Hall,
357 ; Lord's, 24, 27, 28, 38,
53, 66, 75, 90, 92, 147, 168,
188, 189, 193, 208, 218, 227,
93S> 2 73> 274, 290, 295, 309,
314, 318-320, 328-330, 359,
3 6 9-373 5 Magdalen, Oxford,
328 ; Oval, 28, 64, 74, 188,
218, 227, 235, 262, 273, 318-
320, 329, 369-373

Hambledon, the home of

cricket, 17
Hawick, cricket at, 292, 295
Health, 88
Hockey, 2

KENT, cricketing in, in 1830,
280

' Laws of Cricket ' revised at
the ' Star and Garter ' by a
committee of noblemen and
gentlemen, &c, 218

Lord, Thomas, founder of Lord's
cricket-ground, 27

McDonnell's Australian team,

319

Mann, Sir Horace, 389

Marylebone Cricket Club, the
parliament of cricket, 27 ;
presidents and secretaries, 28 ;
abolition of rule forbidding
ground to be rolled except
before each innings, 142 ; on
throwing, 172, 174; onlollow-
on and declaring innings at
end, 202 ; on definition of
amateur, 356

Matches : —Australians v. Cam-
bridge University, 314, 315,
316; v. Derbyshire, 315 ; v.
.England, 169, 194, 262, 271,
315-322 ; v. Gentlemen of
England, 168, 314, 315, 316 ;

PUB

v. Gloucestershire, 314, 315 ;
v. Lancashire, 316 ; v. Lei-
cestershire, 314; v. M.C.C.,
314; v. Middlesex, 314; 7;.
Nottingham, 314, 315, 316;
v. Oxford University, 316;
v. Players, 315, 316; v. Sur-
rey, 314 ; v. Sussex, 314 ; v.
Yorkshire, 74, 314-317. Cam-
bridge v. Oxford, 135, 194,
275,328-353; Eton v. Harrow,
332 ; Gentlemen v. Players,
38, 40, 87, 188, 273, 301,
3 2 9» 356-374- Gloucestershire
v. Kent, 308 ; v. Notts, 306 ;
v. Surrey, 86, 307 ; v. York-
shire, 306. Hambledon v.
England, 388, 389 ; Hamp-
shire v. England, 389 ; Kent
v. All England, 15 ; v. Ham-
bledon, 388, 389; v. Hants,
389; v. Sussex, 76. M.C.C.
v. Cambridge University, 86,
92 ; v. Hertfordshire, 28 ; v.
Kent, 306 ; v. Oxford Uni-
versity, 87 ; v. Yorkshire,
309. North v. South, 38,
90. Notts v. Yorkshire, 63.
Surrey v. Cambridge Univer-
sity, 91 ; v. England, 389 ;
v. Kent, 43; v. Notts, 289

Maxwell, Mr., 298

Murdoch's teams of Australian
cricketers, 315-318, 320

Nervousness, 87
Nottinghamshire bowlers, 357

Pallamajo, 1

Professionals as a class, 98,
101, 102 ; prospects of, in
their career, 99-101 ; defini-
tion of, 356

Public schools and colleges,
bowling at the, 95, 97, 98 ;
captains, 207, 209; elevens,
209 ; Charterhouse, 330, 354 ;
Cheltenham, 354 ; Clilton,
354; Eton, 9, 330, 332,
339. 353; Harrow, 330,
353 ; Marlborough, 354 ;
Kepton, 354; Rugby, 151,

4o6

CRICKET.

REG

UNI

330, 353 ; Shrewsbury, 10 ;
Tonbridge, 354; Uppingham,
164, 354; Westminster, 354 ;
Winchester, 330, 354 ; Wyke-
ham, 330, 33 i

Regimen, 210
Rounders, I, 2
Rustic match, a, in 1830, 280

Scores, how to make good, 299 ;
diet, sleep, and exercise, 299 ;
early training, 300 ; practice
on ground previous to match,
300 ; testing pads, gloves, and
shoes, 301 ; punctuality at
wicket, 302 ; taking guard,
302 ; observation of position
of field, 302 ; beginning of
innings, 303 ; avoidance of
sharp runs, 303 ; running out
big hits, 304 ; playing balls
too quickly, 304 ; dealing
with thirst, 304; modesty in
the hour of victory, 305 ;
differing orders of wickets,
305 ; a fast, dry, and true
wicket, 305 ; a fast, good,
wet wicket, 307 ; a slow,
good, dry wicket, 307 ; a
bumpy wicket, 308 ; a drying,
sticky wicket, 310 ; dealing
with straight balls, 310 ;
valuable hints, 310, 311 ;
playing against odds, 311

Scotch cricket, 32, 194, 230

Scott's Australian eleven, 31S

Shoes, 184, 241

Single wicket, 284, 386 ; rules,
387 ; annals, 388-392

Sleep, 88

Smoking, 210

Snob-cricket, I

Spikes, 184

Stoddart's English team in Aus-
tralia, 215, 322-323

Stool-ball, 1-4

Stump-cricket, I

Superstition among players, 89

Sutton-in-Ashfield, the nursery
of bowlers, 358

Temperament, 86

Throwing, 171

Training young cricketers, art
of, 375 J beginning early, 375 ;
evils of over-coaching, 376,
380 ; learning to bat, 377-
382 ; duties of the coach, 380 ;
teaching to bowl, 382-384 ;
fielding, 384

Trott's Australian team, 321, 322

Umpires, 217 ; none in early
days of cricket, 217 ; scoring
by the ' notcher,' 217; rules
for, in the • Laws of Cricket,'

218 ; former custom of each
side providing its own, 218 ;
present mode of nominating,
219 ; source from whence
drawn, 219; difficulties of,

219 ; deciding on question of
bat or hand touching ball,
219; finality of decisions,
221 ; in cases of l.b.w., 223 ;
mutinous bowlers, 225 ; club
cricket disputes, 226 ; at rus-
tic matches, 226-231 ; folly of
giving reasons for decisions,
231 ; qualifications for, 232 ;
quickness in deciding, 233 ;
powers of concentration, 233 ;
duties of 234 ; ground-
measuring and placing of
stumps, 234 ; settlement of
boundaries, 235 ; punctuality,
235 ; position at wicket, 235 ;
crying ' no ball,' 236 ; wide
ball, 237 ; precedence of
appeal to, at bowler's end,
238 ; bump balls, 239 ; stump-
ing, 240 ; fair and unfair play,
241 ; at striker's end, 241 ;
use of common sense, 244 ;
country specimens, 290; in
Border cricket, 298

Umpires :— Barker, Tom, 290 ;

Bayley, J., 290; Caldecourt,

290 ; Good, 290 ; Ost, 281
Universities, bowling at the, 95,

97; captains, 207, 209, 210;

teams, 274

INDEX.

407

UNI

University cricketers {see also
wider Batsmen and Bowlers) :
Absalom, 344
Anson, T. A,, 334
Ash, E. P., 40
Baily, 339

Balfour, R. D., 334
Bardsvvell, 334
Barnard, 330, 332
Bayley, 331
Belcher, 340, 343~345
Berkeley, 334, 338, 355
Blacker, 347, 349
Blore, E. W., 336
Booth, 352

Bourne, 340, 342, 343, 345
Briggs, 346, 348
Buckland, 347, 348
Bullock, 335
Butler, S. E., 334, 337, 340,

342, 343, 345, 355
Campbell, 347
Case, 354

Cobden, 337, 340, 342-346
Cunliffe, 334
Curteis, 352
Dale, 340, 341, 346
Druce, F. N., 354
Evans, A. H., 334, 354
Fawcett, E. B., 337
Fellowes, E. L. , 334
Fellowes, W., 335
Fiennes, W., 335
Fortescue, 341, 346
Fowler, 352

Francis, 340, 342, 346, 354
Freeman, George, 351
Fryer, 337, 342
Game, 346, 348, 351
Green, C. E., 335
Greenfield, 349
Hamilton, 349
Hill, F. H., 342-345
Inge, 354

Jackson, F. S.,334, 354
Jardine, 335
Jenner, Herbert, 331
Kelcey, 347, 348
Kempson, 355
Kenney, E. M., 334, 336,

354, 355
Key, 335, 336, 354, 355

UNI

University cricketers (coni.) :
King, R. T., 335
Lane, C. G., 339, 355
Lang, R., 334, 335, 337, 346,

347, 349,350,351,352,355
Leslie, 329, 353
Longman, G. H., 339, 347,

349
Lucas, 349, 354, 355
Lyttelton, 349, 350
Lyttelton, Hon. A., 354, 355
Lyttelton, Hon. C. G. (now

Lord), 335, 337, 355
Macan, 349-35 J
Maitland, W. ¥., 334, 354,

355
Makinson, J., 329, 335, 336,

354
Manning, Henry (Cardinal),

330
Marsham, C. D., 328, 329,

334-336, 344, 352, 355
Mills, W., 334
Mitchell, 335, 336, 352, 354,

355
Money, 337, 340
O'Brien, 329
Onslow, D. R., 337
Ottaway, 339-342, 346, 351,

354

Palairet, 354
Patterson, 346-348, 350
Pauncefote, 340, 341, 344,

346, 353, 354, 355
Payne, A, 335
Pelham, Hon. F. G., 334, 352,

355
Plowden, H. M., 334, 335,

337, 352, 355
Powys, W. N. , 334, 339
Pulman, 347, 348, 351
Rashleigh, 354
Raynor, 339
Ridding, A., 328
Ridding, C. H., 328
Ridley, A. W., 338, 346-350,

352, 355
Rock, C. W., 334
Royle, 347-350
St. Croix, W. de, 334
Salter, H. W., 334, 335, 337
Sayres, 336

408

CRICKET.

UNI

University cricketers {con/.) :
Scott, 337, 340
Sharpe, 346-349
Sims, 350-35 2
Smith, 351
Smith, A. F., 340
Stedman, 337
Steel, A. G., 334, 337, 354,

355
Stewart, 343, 344, 345
Studd, C. T., 334, 354, 355
Tabor, 339
Thornton, 337
Tobin, 337

Townshend, 342, 346
Traill, W. F., 334, 355
Tuck, G. H., 334
Tylecote, 339-342, 346, 348,

354
Voules, S. C, 334, 354
Walker, J., 33<*
Walker, R.D., 328, 329, 338,

354
Ward, 341, 342
Ward, Rev. A. R., 314, 344-

347
Ward, Harrison, 340
Warner, 353
Webbe, 346, 347, 35°
Wells, 334
Wills, T. W., 329
Woods, S. M. J., 334, 338,

355, 373
Wordsworth (late Bishop of

St. Andrews), 329-333
Wright, 336, 355
Yardley, 335-337, 339-34*,

344,345,346,353,354,355
Yonge, G. E., 336
University cricket-match, the,
328 ; rules of qualification to
play in, 328 ; advantage of
playing on own ground, 329 ;
Bishop Wordsworth's account
of the first Inter-University
match, 330-333 ; results of
matches, 333 ; quality of the
bowling, 333, 352 ; individual

YOR

scores, 335, 336 ; celebrated
bowlers, 336, 337 ; Mr. S. E.
Butler's great, bowling feat,
337 ; batting failures, 338 ;
vicissitudes of the contests,
339 ; the two-run success of
Cambridge, 339 -346 : the
six-run victory of Oxford,
346-352 ; public schools and
the University elevens, 353 ;
all-round players, 354

Wicket-keeper, duties of,

209, 219, 220, 251-255
Wicket-keepers : —

Anson, T. A., 275, 276

Blackham, J. M., 268, 276,
277, 3i6, 317, 320

Box, Tom, 76, 276

Bush, 276

Gay, 276

Hunter, 276

Jarvis, 277

Jenner, Herbert, 276

Kemble, 276

Leaiham, 276

Lilley, 276

Lockyer, 276

Lyttelton, Alfred, 240, 276

McGregor, G., 212, 213, 276,
320

Mortlock, 268

Newton, 276

Nicholson, W., 276

Philipson, 276

Pilling, 212, 276

Finder, George, 276, 277, 309

Plumb, 276

Pooley, 276

Ridding, W., 276

Sherwin, 252, 253, 276

Storer, 215, 276

Tylecote, E. F. S., 276

Tylecote, H. G., 274

Wenman, E. G., 276

Yorkers, 58, 128, 129

Sfcttimocdc & Co. r j inters, Xczv-itrcct Square, Lcitccn.

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